Telecommunications in Nigeria

(Dr. G.A. Alabi)

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON NIGERIA

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a tropical country on the West African
Coast along the Gulf of Guinea, with the Republic of Benin to the West , Niger
to the North, Chad to the North-East and Cameroon to the East and South-East.

The climate is tropical. In the South, the average annual temperature is about
32oc, with high humidity and the average annual rainfall above
3,800mm in parts of the South-East. It is drier and semi-tropical in the
North, and the average annual rainfall may be as low as 625mm.

Nigeria covers an area of some 923,769 sq.km, and situated between latitudes
4o and 14oN of the equator. In some parts of the
country, latitude tends to modify the high humid and hot temperature associated
with tropical rain-forest regions.

The vegetation ranges from rain forest in the south, through deciduous forest
to grasslands dotted with shrubs which finally shades into the dry desert
regions. Within the past few decades, desert encroachment has threatened human
and cattle life in the northern - most parts of the country. The southern part
is characterised by undulating hills, occasionally rising to as high as 3000 to
5,000 meters in some places. The northern part shows the same features but
rising to a plateau in the centre and north-eastern part of the country to
about 8,000 metres above sea level.

The two major rivers transversing the country are Rivers Niger and Benue, in a
confluence at Lokoja, from where they flow through a series of creeks in the
delta region into the Atlantic Ocean. Other inland drainage areas and important
rivers are Cross-River, Imo River, Kaduna River, and Lake Chad.

1.1.1 Demographic and Cultural Diversity

The peoples of Nigeria are many and varied. They include the Fulanis, the
Yorubas, Hausas, Igbos and a large number of Northern and Southern ethnic
groups. These variations have combined to produce a very rich admixture of
cultures and art, which form the heritage of modern Nigeria.

The Nigeria census in 1963 recorded a total of 55.670.055. There was another
census in 1973, but the results were never published. In 1984, the population
of Nigeria was officially estimated at over 94 million. Nigeria's population
today is put at about 100,000,000 on a land mass of approximately 930,000sq.
kms. It is a Federation of thirty states and Abuja, the Federal Capital
Territory. The climatic conditions range from wet and humid in the South to
dry and hot in the North.

There have been suggestions that more than 45% of the Nigerian populace are
under 20 years old and are still of school going age. This has put a lot of
pressure on the educational systems of the country, and eventually on the
labour market. The economy is therefore being planned to grow fast enough to
provide jobs for the many school leavers annually.

Furthermore, the rural-to-urban migration has been found to be growing daily
and thus creating unprecedented problems of health and housing, transportation,
law and order. This puts a lot of pressures on the delivery systems for these
social services. In spite of this, majority of Nigerians still live in rural
areas, living on subsistence farming, trading, rural industries, and crafts.

1.1.2 Some Telecommunication Information on Nigeria

The total number of subscribers to telephone lines as at the end of December
1986 was put at around 230,000 while Telex subscribers were only 5,300 in
number. Total installed capacity for telephone then was 320,834 and telex
11,577. The percentage utilisation for telephone therefore was 71.6 per cent
while telex was approximately 45.7 per cent. However, modernity in
telecommunications has provided facilities that make for new class of service,
improved revenue generation with properly reviewed tariff policy. Now, in 1996,
the country has almost 1,000,000 subscribers to telephone lines all of which
are handled by standard A antennae facing both the Indian and the Atlantic
Ocean Regions installed at four (4 NO.) different geographical locations across
the country. Nigeria operates a Domestic Satellite System by leasing three (3
No.) transponders from INTELSAT which are accessed by nineteen (19 No.)
Standard B earth stations in some state capitals of the Federation. There is a
Territorial Manager responsible for Telecommunications Administration in each
state except Lagos state where because of the relatively large number of
switching centres and subscribers in the metropolis, it was considered prudent
to have at least two (2No.) Territorial managers.

Nigeria embraced Digital Technology since the 1980s with the introduction of
Digital Switches and Transmission Systems (Radio and Optic fibre) into the
network. Since the beginning of the 90s, Mobile Telephone Services (Cellular),
Paging and Electronic Mail have also been part of the services offered by NITEL
(Nigerian Telecommunications Plc). NITEL now has an X.25 and X.40 switching
facilities in its network. Today however, to a population of One hundred
million (100m), the figure of more than half a million telephone lines in the
country means in effect, a very low telephone density ratio; though the country
has the largest number of telephones in any one country in Africa.

1.1.3 Economic and Socio-Political Climate of Nigeria

The importance of communication in any country whether developed or developing
is so obvious. In fact the inter-relationship between the economic development
of a country and effective telecommunication services is so interwoven that it
is difficult to tell which one comes first. Suffice it to say however, that
most developed nations have the more developed telecommunications
infrastructures and services. While the inhabitants of the developed world
look forward to enjoying the full benefits of the so-called "Information
Society" by the year 2000, the situation in the developing world is the
opposite. For example, it is well known that the city of Tokyo has more
telephones than the whole of the continent of Africa with a population of 500
million.

This type of disparity, coupled with the interest of common humanity, led the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to seek ways and means of not only
bridging the gap but also enabling humanity, as a whole, to cooperate towards a
common goal of telecommunications service within easy reach of all people at
the turn of the century. One of these ITU efforts (2) culminated in the
Resolution (No.20) adopted by the Plenipotentiary Conference of ITU in Nairobi,
1982, which called for the establishment of "an International Commission for
worldwide telecommunications development.

The Resolution mandated the Commission, inter alia, "to recommend a range of
methods including novel ones for stimulating telecommunications development in
the developing world using appropriate and proven technologies in ways which
would:

a) serve the mutual interest of governments, operating companies, the public
and specialised user groups in the developing world and of the public and
private sectors in the developed world; and

b) lead to progressive achievement of self-reliance in the developing world and
the narrowing of the gap between the developing and developed countries".

The Independent Commission for Worldwide Telecommunications Development, which
was set up, eventually submitted its report, titled the "Missing Link" which is
famous for its contents and recommendations on world telecommunications
development especially in the developing world.(3) The ITU felt it necessary
that after the submission of the report, a World Telecommunications Development
Conference should be held to go through it.

This Conference (4) was held and brought together Members of the Union at
ministerial level to study and exchange views on the many aspects of the report
of the Independent commission that had national government policy implications.
This was the first Conference of its kind and it reflected the importance that
the ITU gives to telecommunications development particularly in the developing
countries.

The Conference adopted on 30th May, 1985 the Arusha Declaration which, in many
ways, was expected to help in the bridging of the telecommunications gap, if
conscientiously implemented.

In addition to the Arusha Declaration, it is pertinent to also recall the
Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa which incorporated
in its programme of action, the Transport and communications Decade for Africa
which aimed at rapidly developing the transport and communications
infrastructure of the continent to respond to the political, economic and
social aspirations of the continent. Furthermore, an Africa Telecommunications
Development Conference was also organised by ITU on behalf of the Panaftel
Coordinating Committee, in Tunis, Tunisia, from January 12 to 16, 1987. It
dealt with various aspects of telecommunications development plans in
Africa.(5)

In the pre-colonial days, Nigerians lived under political systems with varying
degrees of sophistication in terms of organisation and management of their own
affairs.

In 1960, Nigeria became an independent country. Since independence, Nigeria
as a nation has experienced frequent political changes. It has had eleven
governments of which seven have been military and four civilian. Presently,
Nigeria is having a military government.

The colonial infrastructures vis-a-vis roads, railways, telecommunication,
system of administration, language and common rules of commerce, educational
institutions and colonial townships-have al helped to rub the rural Nigerians
of their tribal nature and made them available for the development of the new
nation.

Urban areas have continued to grow and telecommunication facilities are
increasing at a tremendous rate; educational institutions are growing and
attracting more and more young people to come into contact with one another.
Associations and other professional bodies are recruiting membership on the
basis of achievements. All these augur well for a nation in the making.

Economic development during the colonial era, under the British, supported the
production of raw materials and tropical products like palm-oil, palm-kernel,
rubber, cocoa, groundnut, groundnut oil, and timber, and also minerals for
export.

Since the discovery of oil in 1970, oil has come to dominate the whole economy
and trade of Nigeria.

In the Second Development Plan 1970-74, the role of the government was
reviewed and stated explicitly. The rationale for the government role in the
economy was stated as follows:

..."that progress would be faster, if the nation is motivated in its economic
activity by a common sound purpose. Effective coordination ..... easier when
they all subscribe to a common goal and operate under a common impetus(1).

For a long time, the influence of the government in the economy has been all
pervading, not restricted to the traditional areas of providing infrastructural
support, law and order, but has made direct investments via its numerous
publicly owned corporations, companies and joint ventures in the direct
production of some goods.

The foundation of the modern economy of Nigeria was laid during the
implementation of the 2nd Development Plan. The 3rd Development Plan 1975 -
1980 adopted the objectives of the 2nd Plan and also adopted the following
implementing and measurable objectives:

i) Increase in per capita income

ii) More even distribution income

iii) Reduction in the level of unemployment

iv) Increase in the supply of high level manpower

v) diversification of the economy

vi) Balanced diet

vii) Indigenization of economic activity

The third plan was aided by OPEC and sustained favourable balance of payments
positions, then.

The execution of the 3rd Development Plan recorded significant achievement in
various fields of the economy. But due to some operational problems and many
other reasons, the performance fell short of the high expectations prevailing
at the outset of the plan.

With the introduction of the 4th Development Plan which coincided with the
return of the civilian rule under a new Presidential type constitution, almost
immediately the oil prices and demand started to fall and the expected revenue
declined.

With the introduction of SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme) in 1986, as
compared with the pre-early 1980s there was renewed interest in making use of
local technological resources with increased local sourcing of industrial raw
materials. The increased renewed interest was due to some factors which
included political interest in self-reliance and the need of finding production
techniques more appropriate to distributional and employment objectives. SAP,
though increased the local sourcing of industrial raw materials in Nigeria, has
not contributed significantly to the technological development of the country
mainly because of the increased local cost of importing those inputs that
cannot yet be produced locally. One major problem is the shortage of machinery
and spare parts, since very limited capacity exist in Nigeria for local
fabrication of the simplest machine, and equipment with the result that even
the machine designed or adapted by research institutes were hardly
commercialised.

Inadequate or ineffective dissemination and use of information is assumed to
be responsible for the slow pace of industrial development in Nigeria. For
rapid industrialization, dissemination of usable research findings to
industrialists in the language and format they understand is one major factor.
The inability of the publication and utilization of research findings has also
resulted in a considerable proportion of researchers carrying out activities
which have very little or no relevance to science and technology and industrial
developments.

1.1.4 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

While the existence of information does not necessarily ensure its use, the
real value of an information system lies in the servicing of specific user
needs. In order to solve this problem, and hoist the country on the path of
greater technological and overall socio-economic development as well as create
a new lease of life for the citizenry, a planned increase in penetration of
telecommunications services has been seen as a welcome development for national
growth.

Every human society, from the most primitive to the most advanced, depends on
some form of telecommunications network. It will be virtually impossible for
any group of people to define their collective identities or make decisions
about their common and binding interests, without communications. Communication
networks make society a reality.

It makes it possible for people to cooperate, to produce and exchange
commodities, to share ideas and information and to assist one another in times
of need.

Indeed, every facet of the basic rights is dependent on telecommunication.
Such basic rights of the individual as the right to life, the right to personal
liberty and dignity, the right to free expression and information and the
right to free movement, all of which enhance the quality of life of the
individual, are facilitated by telecommunications.

Electronic Communications involve the process by which messages are sent
across the globe through the use of the computer, telephone line and a modem.
Unlike the fax system which allows one page of text to be transmitted at a
time, electronic communication facility allows several pages to be processed
off-line and through a single dialling, it allows these several pages of
messages to be transmitted to a gateway where they can be distributed to their
various destinations.

Furthermore, electronic communication involves any of several forms of
information exchange between two or more computers through any of several
methods of interconnection such as telephone line, optical fibre, satellite or
radio. This communication mode is rapidly spreading throughout the world as a
fast, reliable and in most applications, an inexpensive form of communication.
It is fast and inexpensive because it can use existing public telephone lines,
a dedicated (leased) line or via microwave radio frequency.

The foregoing is indicative of the requirements necessary to induce a
meaningful development of telecommunications infrastructure in Africa.

1.1.5 The Geopolitical Structrue of NITEL

This section of this report examines geopolitical structure and policy phasing
and its implications on the pursuit of profit and social services objectives
including national interest and unit within the framework of telecommunications
policy in Nigeria. Geopolitics in its generic sense attempts to explain world
political developments in terms of geographic space. It emphasizes fact of
physical and economic geography seen either as opportunities or limitations in
the pursuit of specific goals and objectives.

The geopolitical structure and policy phasing is also well demarcated when we
examine the functions and roles of which the Nigerian Telecommunications
(NITEL) was set up. NITEL was established to provide efficient
telecommunications services to all parts of the Federation and to link Nigeria
with all parts of the world with emphasis on those countries maintaining strong
economic and political relations with Nigeria. In its external services, it
was also mandated to give priority to the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) sub-region and other independent African States as a reflection
of Nigeria's foreign policy.

On domestic telecommunications services and the implications of pursuing
multiple objectives, i.e. socio-political and economic policies on the
operations of NITEL, the enormous difficulties in evolving and implementing
telecommunications policies and programmes in Nigeria became apparent when
consideration is given to the large size and regional distribution of the
country's population and the structure of the country's rural settlements. An
effective coverage of all parts of the Federation in the supply of
telecommunications services depended on resource availability and effective
planning and co-ordination of the systems network as well as efficient
management and technical operations. Telecommunications is a capital intensive
industry. However, with resource constraints, a phased approach to network
expansion was adopted. This called for sound investment decisions,
technological and management innovations, operational and financial efficiency
and generation of profits sufficient enough to efficiently maintain and expand
telecommunications services to all parts of the Federation.

Prior to 1985, the internal and external telecommunications services were
provided and managed by two distinct organisations, namely the Posts and
Telecommunications Department, for internal services and the Nigerian External
Telecommunications Ltd for external services. This situation was fraught with
problems. The Posts and Telecommunications Department consisted of two
dissimilar businesses with different operating objectives and environments.
The Postal Service was essentially social in outlook. As telecommunications on
the whole is a commercial operation, there were difficulties in the management
of these two services to the detriment of the public interest of having good
communications facilities. Further, the existence of separate organisations
for the management of the internal and external telecommunications networks did
not augur well for efficient national telecommunications network because of
lack of co-ordination that existed between the two operating entities in
development planning, project phasing, implementation, operation, maintenance
and billing. This separate existence of the operating entities often resulted
in duplication in investment with consequential heavy demand on scarce national
financial and human resources for telecommunication development. It also
affected the promotion of cross subsidisation from the more lucrative
international sector to the not-so-lucrative domestic sector which was beset
with problems arising from logistics and maintenance due to, among other things
equipment spread.

Organisational problems were not the only one that retarded telecommunication
development efforts in Nigeria. Others including the following, deserve
special mention:

a) The planned objective could not always be achieved due mainly to shortage
of funds, inadequate executive technical manpower and uncoordinated project
management.

b) Rapid advancement in technology is making the procurement of spare parts
for maintenance of existing systems a costly undertaking as these were then
obtainable from fewer sources than before.

c) Lack of equipment standardisation which created problems of spare parts
stocking.

d) The inadequacy of the tariff, at times, has made generation of revenue to
cater for recurrent capital expenditure and future development difficult.

e) Lack of future plan, information and needs from local government areas.

f) Lack of co-ordination of infrastructural planning.

(g) Poorly defined and discontinuous policies on national development plans.

The net effect of these problems was constant failure to attain planned
targets and poor performance of the telecommunications undertaking in the
country.

It is pertinent, however, to point out that these problems are being tackled
within the limits of the authority and resources of the new organisation,
NITEL. For example, plans have been completed to start the establishment of
standards for equipment operation and architecture, while at the same time the
tariff is being reviewed to reflect the reality of the present-day operational
costs. The NITEL organisation is such that it is now very easy to contact local
government areas for information about their development plans where these
exist. Also, efforts are being made to follow up equipment standardisation
with local manufacture of telecommunications equipment. In fact, the
centralisation of the control of the international and domestic services has
led to an improvement in the operation and maintenance of the national network
and the situation is such that NITEL is now able to pay all salaries from its
earnings.

Telecommunications is both dynamic and capital intensive and in view of its
catalystic effect on the development of other sectors of the economy such as
agriculture, health, tourism and education and its necessity for the
commercial, industrial, socio-economic and political development of the
country, the need for an orderly and efficient development of
telecommunications infrastructure in Nigeria has now been found more urgent in
order to keep pace with the development of the other sectors of the economy.

The overall national objective on telecommunications may be stated in general
terms as the provision of modern, efficient, reliable and adequate
telecommunications services in the country subject to the constraints of
available resources. In addition to the overall national objective, there are
several sub-objectives which deal with specific aspects of telecommunications
such as types of services to be provided, quality or service, operational and
equipment standards, etc. These objectives have often led to a set of policies
within the framework of the national policy.

At the national level, the general objectives are; to promote an orderly and
efficient development of telecommunications, and to promote the provision of
efficient public telecommunication services in Nigeria. In the fulfilment of
these objectives, decisions have been taken on certain issues, some of which
are:-

Legislation of Telecommunications;

Role of Government;

Rights of Citizens;

Competitions and Monopoly;

National Security, etc.

1.2 The Nigerian Society and the Information Sector

In some of the present thirty states in Nigeria, the proportion of rural urban
dwellers is estimated at over 75% but, generally, Nigeria claims an average of
about 70%. Some 80% of these inhabitants are engaged in agriculture and other
extractive subsectors, that is, nearly three-fifths of the total population are
engaged in the primary activities of growing food (and mining).

Significantly, the agriculture sector in the United States of America employed
44% of that country's population some 100 years ago, but only 2% of the
population is today engaged in feeding the entire nation (and exporting food
also). A two -sector aggregation of the same American labour force data
translates to 92% of all USA workers engaged in non-information activities in
1880, and 8% in the information sector. Today, the population engaged in the
information sector is about equal to that in all the other sectors put
together, that is about 50%.

Similar changes are reported in other industrialised societies, as in Europe.
These countries are said to have arrived at the Information Age or the
Post-industrial Age, which is assumed generally to have begun in the 1960's
with the discovery of the transistor.

The information Society is characterised by certain relevant dimensions,
including:

the change from a goods producing to a service society;

the centrality of theory in technological innovations (as against intuitive
inventiveness and craft); and

the application of decision rules in place of intuitive judgements, as in
modern management of systems (analysis), organisations and enterprises.

Subsequent sections of this report examine the ways information and
communication are being introduced into the economic and social development of
the country.

Telecommunications are a key infrastructure of economic and social development
for the second half of the 21st century. They provide, as
facilitator, an enabling condition for carrying on the dominant pursuits of the
modern day, namely, of the Information Age. Two types of information business
can be identified: the first is associated information, such as derives from
the need to transact businesses related to the primary and secondary
occupations of extracting (agriculture and mining) and manufacturing. The
second is a commodity that is based on information and knowledge.

During the first 50 or so years of the telephone, it was devoted to serving
the needs of the traditional economic (and social) sectors, for moving goods
from source to consumer. The objective of development in switched or two-way
telecommunications was almost entirely the universal penetration of the Plain
Old Telephone (POT). The telephone was invaluable for carrying out voice
communication over short and long distances. In this circumstance, it was not
the agricultural and mining sectors of the economy that called for the most use
of the POT but, rather, the manufacturing, distributive and management
subsectors.

Where manufacturing is weak, however, as with rural communities and most
third-world nations, the penetration of the ordinary voice telephone was
expectedly low.

It is clear that the African countries are grossly underwired and their
telecommunications facilities quite clearly underdeveloped. An analysis,
showing the correlation between national GDP and telephone density revealed
the link between economic affluence and the penetration of telecommunications.
It is only of academic interest as claimed by Maduka whether it is affluence
that came before the telephone or it is the telephone that created the
affluence. By treating telecommunications as an infrastructure, the notion is
that wealth and affluence can thereby be enhanced, but a quick evaluation of
the cost of the telephone line shows that it probably requires an affluent
economy to pay for the minimum UN recommended telephone density, of one line
per 100 inhabitants. Today, the Nigerian statistic is about 0.66 lines per 100
inhabitants. A combination of the latest census figure and the drastic
devaluation of the Nigerian currency (Naira) value is naturally of considerable
interest and interpretation to different professionals and scholars.

In the Information Society, information is also a stand-alone commodity, not
merely associated with primary or industrial production, but essentially with
services, including communication itself. The range of these services includes
messengering, broadcasting, advertising, news services, databases, financial
and several other professional services. The computer falls in the centre of
this rapidly developing information business and the countries which have
attained this tertiary or information stage of occupation have large telephone
densities. At this point in time, it would be difficult to try to identify a
threshold for this stage to be attained. Workers in this stage are finding the
POT rather inadequate for the high demands which they now place on
telecommunications. They need to be freed from the short cable or leash on the
telephone instrument, hence the cordless phone; they have to be reached
anywhere (mobile), they manage their time critically (voice/electronic mail)
and the need to access large masses of data at high speed, for decision-making
in the highly competitive world of modern global business.

1.4 TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY

1.4.1 Background Information

Technology development refers to the translation of research results into
goods and services as well as improvement on existing technologies based on
cost and effective evaluation.

Science and Technology have become critical factors of economic and social
development. Through their application, it has become possible to harness the
forces of nature and to transform the raw material resources with which nature
endows man into goods and services for better quality of life. Indeed, the
extent to which a nation is committed to this awareness and integrates science
and technology practice into the socio-cultural activities of its people marks
the difference between developed, developing and under-developed nations. The
developed world has attained technological sophistry, by exploiting science and
technology to create wealth, save human energy and provide technical services.
A country like Japan which has very little natural resources but depends on
importation of raw materials from other countries has, through efficient
application of science and technology transformed these materials into goods
and services and now dominate world markets. On the other hand, the developing
countries have economies which are very dependent on the industrialised world,
because they have not on their own been able to adequately use science and
technology to exploit their natural resources. They possess abundant resources
but lack adequate scientific and technological know-how to transform them into
goods and services.

1.4.2 The Status of S & T in Nigeria

Nigeria is a developing country, yet on the threshold of industrialisation.
The industrial and service sector is still heavily dependent on importation of
machinery from overseas countries to keep the wheels of industry going.

The maintenance of these machines, in most cases, is also provided by external
experts. This situation is also very true for the telecommunications sector.
Telecommunications development in Nigeria so far is wholly dependent on foreign
technologies. In most cases, investment by multinationals has meant a mere
relocation of facilities without the transfer of ability to innovate since all
the elements of technology required to make telecommunication succeed are most
often transferred in a package. The main constraint to rapid
telecommunications development in Nigeria has therefore been attributed to lack
of science and technology capacity for:

i) plant construction and installation;

ii) fabrication of plant and machinery;

iii) technical and managerial activities;

iv) operation and maintenance of facilities.

The transfer of the above elements in a package has reverted Nigeria from
utilising local resources for some of them or developing new competence in
other critical areas. Another constraint to telecommunications development in
Nigeria is the inadequacy of science and technology infrastructure including S
& T Manpower, S & T Information, engineering services, materials,
instruments and apparatus for training scientists and technologists in
telecommunications. Limited dissemination and utilization of research results
in telecommunications practice in Nigeria has also been identified as a
definite constraint to telecommunication development. Results of research in
engineering, electronics and solid state physics in the Universities and
Research Institutes are not being fully utilised to develop local capability in
telecommunication services and in maintenance, adaptation and integration of
new equipment with existing ones.

Another major constraint was once identified as obsolete switching and
transmission equipment. Many of the existing exchanges and cable network are
obsolete and therefore liable to frequent breakdowns. The demands on
maintenance have been more tasking due to the technical limitations inherent in
the design and difficulties in obtaining the spares of the equipment which are
no longer in production. Also, another factor that militated against
telecommunications development is lack of co-ordination and proper planning in
projects implementation. Poor studies on project scope and costs resulted in
implementation of projects of doubtful economic viability, in some cases, which
were later abandoned midstream involving huge economic losses.

The problem of maintenance and operation of telecommunications services was
later aggravated by the proliferation of technologies and the lack of technical
standards. Not less than five types of automatic switching equipment are
currently in use in the country. Even within the same city, several types of
switching equipment have been installed. This presents problems in respects of
spare parts for maintenance. Standardisation of network equipment in Nigeria
has therefore not yet been totally achieved and this imposes additional strains
by creating inflexibility in the use of manpower and spare parts.

2.0 TELECOMMUNICATIONS NEEDS, PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS

The long term goal of a telecommunication enterprise is not only to be
self-financing but also to generate a reasonable return on investment. To
achieve this goal, there must be careful consideration of the sources of
investment and the conditions that are attached to them. Its long term
interests should always be kept in mind in the choice of sources of capital
which ideally should be diverse and a combination of different sources.

It is generally believed that the telecommunication enterprise should have a
pricing and tariff policy that is consistent with national objectives set by
the government and the cost of providing the services. It is only normal that
returns from some partS of the network should subsidise shortfalls that may
occur in other parts of the network, such as in the case of rural areas. This
norm has always been observed in Nigeria. In addition, mechanisms are essential
for identifying the need for investment projects, for evaluating them, for
predicting accurately what they will cost and for determining priorities for
their execution. Happily enough, the procurement procedures often embarked
upon in Nigeria secure an optimum balance between low initial cost, reliability
and running cost like maintenance and power.

2.1. THE STATE OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE IN

NIGERIA

2.1.1 Research and Development

Since Nigeria's independence on October 1, 1960, up till 1995, only four
national development plans were executed under the Ministry of Communications
supervision, and these plans provided about 400,000 installed direct exchange
lines (DEL). In 1992, barely seven years after NITEL (Plc) was established, new
technologies - electro-magnetic digital, satellite fibre optic, INMARSAT,
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) -were introduced into the national
networks. Up till 1989, all the exchanges and transmission facilities were of
analogue system. Nitel has now successfully introduced the digital system into
the network with a total of over 160,000 digital lines since this operation
started a couple of years ago. Apart from providing a number of improved
telecommunication facilities to the populace, Nigerian Telecommunications
(NITEL) Plc, has been recently identified as housing the most suitable computer
communications for the use of the South Investment Trade and Technology
Exchange Centre (SITTDEC), a collaboration of the G15 countries working to
facilitate South-South co-operation with its headquarters in Kuala-Lumpur,
Malaysia. The Centre's mission is principally to foster and promote
investments, trade and technology in the South countries by providing relevant,
authoritative and accessible information to governments, organisations,
corporations and individuals in the south countries.

The network capacity of NITEL's 450,516 lines in 1991 was increased to 600,000
at the end of 1992 and to about 1,000,000 at the end of 1995 and it has
continued to grow since.

One of the NITEL's most significant achievements between 1990 and 1993 was
that up to 60% of the total of about N12 billion invested in the provision of
the digital exchanges, transmission links, gateways, and cellular telephone
system, was from the company's internally generated revenue. The first time
that NITEL's services were going wire-less was when the mobile cellular
telephone system services were introduced. The cellular systems introduction
into Nigeria was the first of its kind in Africa, South of the Sahara. Across
the country today, about a quarter of the total number of telephone lines is of
the digital system. NITEL's Research and Development (R & D) which was put
in place in 1992 to develop and improve system components to suit the
environment and put NITEL in the fore-front of information technology, has
continued to assist NITEL forge ahead in its operations. In line with this
development, a joint venture agreement to provide data communications services
known as DATANET was negotiated with SATCOM. In 1992, a Rural
Telecommunications programme which it intended to sustain as part of its
contribution to overall national economic growth was also introduced.

More importantly, research and development in NITEL has ben strategically
designed to identify and develop solutions to technical problems as the
launching pad for technological self-reliance and the introduction of new
services. The shift of its R&D efforts from purely theoretical to applied
research has now enabled NITEL to design and fabricate systems that are
tailored to Nigeria's environmental conditions. Collaborative arrangements
were also made with Universities and other Research Institutions. These
collaborative efforts led to the design, development and fabrication of devices
and systems on up-to-date technology by NITEL, one of which is the Cable Theft
Alarm Device.

During the first quarter of 1993, the voice mail, the paging system, trunked
radio, and phone card were introduced by NITEL. 15,000 voice mail lines,
100,000 pagers and trunked radio were provided. The voice mail can be accessed
from anywhere in Nigeria or other countries throughout the world by using the
cellular telephone or touch-tone telephone. For now, there are three kinds of
pagers available and only Lagos and Abuja are within the coverage areas of
paging services. This means that messages can be sent to or from anywhere in
the world within these areas. Some of the advantages of a pager include the
freedom of users to go anywhere within the coverage area and be reached, i.e. a
pager

subscriber in Lagos and Abuja can receive messages from anywhere in the world
at any time.

The Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is another technological feat
which made it possible to employ a range of services via one telephone line.
The services included were electronic mail, video telephone
[tele-conferencing], telefax, etc. NITEL Research and Development [R & D]
efforts also supported the evolution of a maintenance philosophy which enabled
NITEL to do away with the services of contractors in system maintenance. For
instance, NITEL staff designed and fabricated loop converter modules, which
used to be imported at higher costs, to meet the demand for private networks
based on leased and Special circuits. The cellular is also being used by NITEL
to provide celluphone

telecommunications services to some local government areas in support of
Federal Government efforts towards rural development.

2.1.2 NETWORK EXPANSION BY NITEL

The network expansion which NITEL embarked upon recently was to add about
510,000 direct exchange lines between 1993 and 1996. This represented more
than 100% increase in the network capacity within 4 years. To ensure that all
local government headquarters in the country without telecommunication services
are provided with services, for a start, a number of local government councils
in parts of the nation are now being linked with celluphone by NITEL. The
project called National Telecommunication Improvement Project (NTIP) was to
provide additional 74,000 lines. The Nigerian Telecommunications engineers and
technicians have alsoenhanced adaptation of a number of equipment such as the
old Pentomat T600 equipment.This has contributed positively to the increase in
revenue generated and also enhanced the performance of this and other
equipment.

Prior to May 1992, Nigeria's telephone services were restricted to conventional
telephone and telex/telegram. With the NITEL now a fully commercialized
autonomous company, there is now a tremendous restructuring of the
telecommunications industry in the country and management rationalization for
accelerated telecommunications.

Now, management of telecommunications development in Nigeria is organised at
three hierarchical levels, namely:

Policy developments.

Regulations (by Nigerian Communications Commission established by Decree No.
75 of December 31st, 1992) and

Carriers/operators by Nitel Plc.

NITEL currently provides a variety of other services which include the
following:

Private Leased Telephone and Telex Services

Leased Telephone and Telegraph Services

Alternate Voice Data (AVD) Circuit

Data Switching System

Electronic Mail (National Service Only)

X.25 Switch

X.40 Electronic Messages

However, despite the above significant achievements, many users have always
experienced some difficulties with NITEL's facilities.

In essence, the following areas of application have further been identified in
the telecommunication system in Nigeria.

Telephone

Telegraph and Telex

Radio links

Television and phototelegraphic transmission.

The technologies involved in the operation of the services outlined above are
hereby discussed under two major systems: Terrestrial and Satellite.

For terrestrial communication, the technologies involved include Wire-on-Pole,
Co-axial Cable and Point to Point Microwave. The Wire-on-Pole system has been
found to be very inadequate in meeting telecommunication needs of the country.
Worse still, unscrupulous elements in the society sometimes disconnect the
wire, for conversion to copper, which is of high market value. This system is
also subjected to and destroyed by severe weather conditions. e.g. heavy
rainfall or windstorm or occasionally during bush burning and felling of
trees.

The co-axial cable system was used for the purpose of linking the South to the
North of the country. During the rainy season the cables usually get soaked
and performance level fell to less than 30 per cent. It was therefore
discarded because of this inadequacy. Nigeria is now concentrating on the
microwave link. The greatest disadvantage of this technology, however, is that
it requires so many links because of the earth's curvature. Therefore, it
requires so many repeater stations which are located in the bush usually in
isolated areas and with isolated power generating units. These are very
expensive and are also exposed to damage, thereby increasing the cost due to
frequent changes.

3.0. TYPES OF DATA COMMUNICATION FACILITIES AT NITEL AND IN SOME NCC
REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS

At the National Communications Commission (NCC), it was observed that, as of
1993, just about forty (40) private telecommunications operators were licensed
by the Commission. However, because of the awareness of the use of
telecommunications for development, more than 250 companies have now been
licensed as at the end of December 1995 while not less than 1000 prospective
applicants have collected application forms at 1,000.00 (One thousand naira)
each, waiting to be licensed to carry out one telecommunication activity or the
other.

The activities for which these private companies are applying, are grouped
under:

1. Sale and installation of high calibre terminal equipment such as
Satellites, High Frequency (HF) Radio facilities.

2. Operation of Payphones

3. Sale and installation of Mobile Communication such as:

a. Cellular

b. Paging

c. Voice mail, etc

4. Provision of Community Telecommunications' with

Exchanges.

5. Provision of Value-Added Network Services

6. Repair and Maintenance of Telecommunications Facilities.

7. Cabling.

From the above general operations, the following specific services were
identified as currently being offered by the Nigerian Telecommunications
(NITEL) PLC and some agencies providing similar services: These services
include:

i) Telephone Services

* Telephone

* Telephone with IDD

* Public Payphone

* Call Office and Public Counter Services

* Operator Assistance

* Operator Information Services

ii) Telex Services

* Internal Telex

* International Telex

* Telex Delivery Services (TDS)

* Gentex Service

iii) Telegraph Services

* Telegraph (Internal)

* International Telegraph

* Registered Telegraph Address (RTA)

* Phonogram

* Telemessages

iv) Specialised Services

* Leased Circuits

* Private Wire

* Alternate Voice Data Circuits

* Private/Limited Networks

* Transmission and Reception of Real Time Television for Network Programmes

v) Value-Added Services

* Cellular Mobile Telephone

* Voice Mail

* Trunked Radio

* Paging

vi) Other Services

* Voice Cast and Press Reception

* NIFAX Service

* Television Standard Conversion

* International Mobile Satellite Communication (INMARSAT)

* Telecommunications Training Facilities

* Compatibility Tests

* Calibration

vii) Data switching System (New Services)

* Electronic Mail (National Service Only)

* Press Reception and Broadcast

* Word/Data Processing

* X.25 Switch

* X.40 Electronic Messages

* Teleconferencing

* Air traffic Sub-system

* International and Local Card Payphone

* International Transit

viii) Biznet

ix) Hardware

* Cable Theft Security Devices

* Digital PABX

* Manhole Water Detector

* TV Antenna

With the above being the specific telecommunication activities, the next step
discusses the media for the operation of the services. Thes services are
usually carried out through:

Satellite

Leased Lines

Radio (HF or VHF)

Dial-up

The country started embracing Digital Technology since the 1980s with the
introduction of Digital Switches and Transmission Systems (Radio and Optic
fibre) into the telecommunications network. Since the beginning of the 90s,
Mobile Telephone Services (Cellular), Paging and Electronic Mail have been part
of the services offered by NITEL which, hitherto enjoyed the monopoly of
Telecommunications services provisions, operations and maintenance until 1992,
when a decree establishing the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),
liberalised terminal ends equipment and value added services for competition
and private sector participation.

In order to carry out the above services the following facilities currently
exist in the country:

* INTELSAT leased global transborder channels.

* INMARSAT Satellite Access.

* 34 Kbps NITEL wide and digital microwave

Lagos - Ijebu-Ode - Benin - Abuja

Lagos - Ijebu-Ode - Benin - Onitsha - Enugu

* 140 Kbps broad band NNPC optical cable and digital microwave

Lagos - Benin - Warri

Lagos - Benin - Lokoja - Kaduna

* Extensive NITEL Analogue nationwide circuits. (See Figures 1 and 2)

Listed below are the various media through which some of the telecommunications
facilities are delivered to the populace in the country. These include those
services that are provided by NITEL as well as those that are commercially
available on a large scale basis. They include:

1. Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Services

VSAT is a technology which enables the extension of domestic networks across a
large national land mass as well as across national frontiers. VSAT systems
integrate transmission and switching functions to implement pre-assigned and
on-demand assigned links for point-to-point and broadcast networks.

The Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) services were found to be widely used
as alternatives to leased lines and other terrestrial value added services such
as X.25/packet switching at significantly lower prices in some organisations in
Nigeria. Hosts and terminals are connected directly to the VSAT equipment
(earth station) making the need for a satellite central office unnecessary. In
contrast to terrestrial trunks, addition of bandwidth is effected easily by the
service provider. It can support relatively high bandwidth of 2mbps. VSAT can
be configured for broadcast (one-way) or interactive (two-way) data
communications.

VSAT services have been found to suffer from long network delays caused by the
up and down links through the atmosphere and space. The delay is of the order
of 250 microseconds compared with 15 microseconds for a typical terrestrial
networks. However, VSAT has been proved to have a higher error rate than fibre
optics.

2. Private Wire

Private wire is a dedicated point-to-point circuit which could be provided
over cable or radio link system. This is being provided to customers for
private and exclusive use. Private Wire facilities, also called local exchange
are dedicated lines or local exchange area leased circuits. It is being
provided on Analogue (up to 9.6 kbts) or Digital (up to 64 kbts) speed lines.
They are in Two categories:

a. Private Wire (Full Time)

b. Private Wire (Part Time)

3. Temporary Exchange Lines

These are voice grade circuits provided to serve at exhibitions and special
events on temporary basis.

4. Domestic Leased Circuit

These are dedicated (Leased) circuits within Nigeria. The circuits could be
provided on point-to-point or point-to-multi-point as may be required by the
customer. Below is a summary of the currently available infrastructure in all
the NITEL installations in the country. Table 1 illustrates those
infrastructures that are currently available in some states and zonal
headquarters of NITEL.

There are presently more than 24 Research Institutes in the country. By the
nature of their organisation and mandates they play a leading role in the
development of raw materials and production methods for industrialisation.
Most of them attract experienced scientists, technicians and engineers to carry
out the tasks of their respective institutes. A good number of these Research
Institutes are also bracing up to those new challenges in local sourcing of raw
materials and effecting technological innovations. In addition to the
Research Institutes, government parastatals like NITEL, NIPOST, NTA, Railways
have also established R & D laboratories and industries for design,
fabrication and local production of equipment and spare-parts.

The private sector has, until recently, not been forthcoming with
technological development in the country. Multinational subsidiaries operating
in Nigeria rely more on their parent companies or their associates for R &
D instead of developing their own independent facilities locally. While it is
accepted that no parent company would give up her immediate advantages by
exposing her core technology to her subsidiary in a developing nation for fear
of the loss of license fees, loss of a market for spare parts, components and
other machinery, this attitude of multinational companies has however slightly
changed, especially with privatisation and commercialisation of information and
telecommunication operations. Both multinationals and indigenous entrepreneurs
have now been encouraged, more than ever before, to set up R & D units in
their organisations.

Finance is a major factor in achieving any measure of success in science and
technology development. The funds allocated by a country for science and
technology activities constitute an investment of a special kind. Since the
key to national development lies in the effective use of technology for
development, it follows that such an investment is vital for the future of the
nation.

At present, Government sponsors almost all research activities in the country.
There has not been any significant break-throughs over the years and this has
been attributable to three factors, namely:

i) Multi-national companies who, although appreciate the role research and
development can play in increasing profits in their industries, nevertheless
are fully committed to carrying out their inevitable research and development
activities in their parent companies outside the country;

ii) Indigenous entrepreneurs in the manufacturing sector who are unwilling to
invest in research and development locally, preferring to buy packaged
technologies which are the outcome of foreign research and development
activities; and

iii) Service organisations, public and private, who lack the appreciation of
the role of science and technology in their operation.

In order to ensure an increase in the general level of funding of science and
technology development activities and its stability, government has decided
that science and technology development activities in the country shall be
financed through a funding system involving the Federal Government and its
parastatals, the State Government and the Private Sector. In this connection,
a National Science and Technology Fund (NSTF) was established to which both
government, industries and philanthropic bodies contribute. In addition,
government makes effective use of bilateral and international schemes for the
procurement of funds from outside for science and technology development
activities.

For meaningful technology development, the country's policy is being planned
to:

i) have an assured raw materials base;

ii) have a strong manpower base;

iii) have adequate facilities for R & D;

iv) develop capabilities for innovations; and

v) develop production methods.

Furthermore, the need for closer linkage between centres of higher education
and research on one hand and industry on the other is now being emphasized more
than ever before. Also private entrepreneur are being encouraged to utilise
the research findings from the country's University and research institutes for
commercial production. In the past, private sector had complained of the
non-relevance of the work of these research institutions to their needs. To
foster close collaboration and liaison between these groups, the Ministry of
Science and Technology has recently set up a Consultative Committee on
Industrial Research and Development made up of representative from the
Universities, Research Institutes, organised private sectors, the National
Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), etc. and relevant government
departments. Through this forum, strategies are being worked out for the
commercial utilisation of research findings emanating from the various Research
Institutions in the country.

For example, a lot of simple circuits that are currently being used by the
Ministry of Communications are being adapted or developed by local institutions
as has been done in most countries. All that is needed is to identify systems
and set target dates by which Nigerian made units will be used in these
systems. The institutions are then invited to meet these targets. This has
served as a challenge that these institutions of higher learning are now
bracing up to. If this line of approach continues to be followed, in a few
years, a number of systems will be developed locally and in some cases improved
versions will be produced. This has been done by other countries such as
India, Japan, Brazil, Taiwan, South Korea, etc., in recent years and Nigeria
has just started to embrace this culture. There has never been a better
opportunity than now that foreign exchange for purchase of systems abroad is
scarce.

In this respect, it is pertinent to mention that in the Department of
Electrical Engineering of the University of Lagos, this effort has been
started. In the university, some equipment designed and constructed locally
are being used for some of the undergraduate laboratory experiments. Some of
these equipments start as final year projects and have been developed and in
some cases improved upon. Further attempts are also being made in designing
and extending the range of other equipment in the laboratories. This is
necessary in these days of dwindling subventions from government.

Most of the institutions of higher learning in the country have facilities for
research and development in the areas of electronics and communications
engineering and indeed in many other areas of engineering. In addition there
are, in these institutions, competent and resourceful personnel that can
undertake researches in these areas and their abilities are being utilized in
developing systems that can be used in the country so as to reduce expenditure
on foreign consultants, experts or researchers. This has helped to conserve
our foreign exchange in these days of dwindling external earnings.

Despite the fact that there are presently many computer installations in
Nigeria, the awareness of the potentials of these computers and their relevance
to our national development and well-being is just emerging.

The nation's response to the growing data processing needs, as contained in the
National Development Policy Plans have continued to witness the importation and
sale of many computer hardwares and softwares to clients. Presently, it has
been observed that:

1. There are now well over 400 Computer Science Programmee and 1000 others
from faculties like Engineering and Physical Sciences that require offerings in
Computer Science up to 200 or 300 levels, as against about

150 students in a typical Computer Science Department in 1975, In addition,
because of the recently implemented National Universities Commission (NUC)
minimum standards, every university student must now take computer science
courses at the 100 level at least. - (Though not much has been done to improve
facilities in the Computer Centres). Our Computer Science graduates will
continue to emerge from the universities with their heads full of theories but
absolutely lacking inpractical experience.

2. It is estimated that there are about 6000 secondary schools in Nigeria. If

each school were to have TWO computer science teachers to cover courses at
the senior classes, one would need 12,000 qualified computer science teachers
to man the schools.

3. Due to the strong job market for degree holders in Computer Science, fewer
graduates continue with postgraduate studies in Computer Science.

4 To fill in the gaps requires continuing education which now abounds

in every part of the country.

5. Because Nigeria operates a free market economy, there is practically no

control on the in-flow of computer hardware and software into the market.

6. With no regulations or any framework of control or standardization in
force,

there is now diverse makes of computers most of which have started to end up
as heaps of faulty electronic gadgets in the few maintenance workshops
available.

4.2.1 Computer Education in Secondary Schools

As a means of advancing information technology applications in the country,
pilot activities embarked upon by a number of State governments towards the
introduction of informatics to the school curriculum, have now metamophorsed
into full implementation in increased number of schools. Most states started
with a pilot project of 4, 6 or 8 selected secondary schools within the state
and by late 1995 these state governments have extended the facilities to at
least one secondary school in each Local Government Area (LGA). There are
presently 589 Local Government Areas in Nigeria and about 6,000 secondary
schools. To execute the programme, a number of teachers were trained for a
couple of weeks either by a computer company or the Polytechnic, depending on
the cost considered reasonable by the government and in the case of the Federal
Government Colleges, by the National Teachers Institute (NTI). These teachers
had already started to return to implement the introduction of informatics to
the educational curriculum of schools.

Furthermore because of the present educational policies at the Federal, State
and Local Government levels, the country operates an extensive network of
primary schools, secondary schools and higher educational institutions. There
are presently 18.7 million students enrolled in over 39.7 thousand institutions
of various levels and types. Of the 18.7 million students in schools, less
than 2 million have access to formal computer activities except in a very few
private primary and secondary schools (about 1% of total number of schools)
which are elitist in their set-ups and charge fees ranging from N20,000 to
N250,000 per annum compared with an average of N500 per annum charged in public
schools. In addition to a large number of primary and secondary institutions
in the country, there are now 37 universities - 25 Federal and 12 state
universities. No private university yet but plans are under way to encourage
individuals, corporate bodies, religious institutions etc. to establish private
universities.

For the past 5 years, the applications of information technology activities
especially those relating to education and training, have been rising
significantly amongst youths and other individuals due to a number of factors,
namely:

1. Since 1978/79 till the present academic year, the existing universities have
been able to admit an average of 15% of qualified applicants into the
institutions, leaving about 85% qualified applicants unable to be
admitted. This has led to this large number enrolling in private computer
schools all over the country for short-time courses ranging from one week to
one year.

2. There are more than 120 Commercial and Merchant Banks, 256 Mortgage banks
and a number of Finance Houses in the country today which lay emphasis on the
applications of information trchnology for their day to day operations. Because
of the lucrative payment incentives in these finance houses, most prospective
applicants strive to acquire certificates (formal or informal) in computer
training with the hope of being attracted by the Finance Houses.

3. Because of the liberalisation of the economy since the introduction of the
Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, many hitherto public companies
have now been privatised and in order to maximize production vis-a-vis profits,
a number of them have now imbibed computerisation into their operations.
Computer literacy has now become aprerequisite for appointment into most cadres
of these companies.

4. Before 1988, offerings in computer science were envisaged strictly for the
tertiary level of education. Only the universities, polytechnics and Colleges
of Education/Technology were expected to teach courses in computer science and
produce graduates in that discipline.

5. The resultant effects of the above state of affairs as claimed by Uche,
were:

(i) Very few Nigerians had access to tertiary education and only a negligible
percentage of this number were admitted into Departments of Computer Science.
Thus, only very few Nigerians were trained in computer technology.

(ii) Societal demand for computer literate Nigerians far outstripped the level
of production of this cadre of manpower.

In an attempt to solve all the above mentioned problems, the Federal
Government of Nigeria decided to formulate a Computer Policy which will not
only address the need for more awareness but also ensure that sound basis for
computer education and utilization is laid.

As the experience in several countries that had introduced computer literacy
programmes shows, the most appropriate place to start computer awareness
programmes is at the school level and the most appropriate level within the
education system is the secondary school level. Therefore the decision in 1988
of Government to start its pilot programme in the Federal Government Colleges
was in keeping with what had proved successful for other countries and in line
with the recommendations of the committee on National Policy for Computer
Education in Nigeria.

The Committee which consisted of eminent scholars and professionals in
informatics was mandated, amongst others, to

(i) advise Government on the types and levels of education that will contain
offerings of Computer Education courses;

(ii) determine the curricular contents and procedures best suited to the needs
of this country for the various levels of education, including general computer
literary at the tertiary levels;

(iii) Consider and advise on the ways and means of ensuring a smooth transition
of computer courses between and among the various types and levels of
education.

In carrying out its assignment the Committee noted that the major objective of
introducing computer literacy and eduction at the secondary school level is to
enable them acquire a level of knowledge about computers which would fit them
directly into the employment market or enable them to pursue courses in
computer science at higher levels. The Committee outlined the following as the
general Informatics Policy Objectives for the nation:

(a) to bring about a Computer Literate Society in Nigeria by the middle of the
90's.

(b) to enable the present generation of school children at this level
appreciate the potentials of the computer and be able to utilise the computer
in various aspects of life and later occupation.

The first of these general objectives was interpreted by the Committee to
imply that the Government would like to see a policy which would not only cater
for those involved in the education enterprise, but also for the general
populace. The intent of government appears to centre around the need to ensure
that everyone appreciates -

- the impact of information and computer technology on today's society;

- the importance of the effective use of information to the individual and the
society;

- the techniques by which information is processed, managed, and communicated;
and

- the role of computers in information management.

The second general objective directly addresses students who for the first
time in the history of the country would benefit from the computer education
programme and who will therefore be the flag-bearers in the nation's
determination to join the current world-wide computer revolution. This general
statement has thus been expanded to comprise the following educational
objectives:

- ability to use and program computers.

- knowledge and ability to use and develop software packages.

- understanding of the structure and operation of the computer.

- knowledge about the history of computers.

- appreciation of the economic, social and psychological impact of the
computer.

- the use of the computer in problem-solving.

The above objectives provide a basis for the committees' recommendation of the
following main curricular content items for the secondary school level:-

- rudimentary knowledge about information systems, information processing
techniques and the role of the computer in this regard;

- exposure to the historical overview and the development of modern-day
computer and its basic components;

- knowledge about the uses to which computers are put in everyday life;

- a basic appreciation of how a computer works.

- an understanding of the basic principles of operating a computer,

- hands-on experiences using pre-programmed packages which are relevant to the
interests of the students as teaching aids in different subjects.

- an introduction to the concept of different computer languages, and
their applications.

- appreciation of problem-solving methods and techniques as they apply to the
computer, program design, coding and documentation.

On the need for a smooth transition between types and levels of education, the
committee recommended that although primary schools will use lower-end
computers and the secondary schools a more sophisticated one, there is not
going to be much difference between the general approach to the teaching of
computer lessons at these two levels. Similarly, the curriculum will enable
secondary school students to cope with the university studies in computer
science. According to the committee, the concept of computer education and
literacy presents challenges which have not been faced before by the teachers.
The Committee noted that for the first time both the teacher and the learner
will be at virtually the same level of knowledge (or lack of it!).

A training package was therefore recommended by the committee for the
teacher.

The objectives of such training are to:

- build confidence in the handling of computer hardware and software.

- encourage the teacher to develop a "sense" of rapport with the computer and
appreciate its potential for resolving teaching and learning challenges.

- take account of and familiarise the teachers with the dynamic nature of
computer technology, thus stressing the necessity for continuous upgrading of
his knowledge.

The Committee on National Policy for Computer Education in Nigeria was also
mandated to define, as clearly as possible, the roles of Federal and State
governments and relevant institutions, particularly the universities,
polytechnics, research institutes and some of the parastatals in the attainment
of the objectives of Computer Education.

The major merit of the National Policy on Computer Education, therefore, is
that it recommends the introduction/incorporation of computer studies at all
levels lower than the universities and Polytechnics. As a matter of fact, the
committee recommended a total lifting of restrictions on computer education in
a way that computer literacy programmes can begin right from the primary
school. According to the Committee, computers should be introduced at any
level provided the necessary facilities and resources exist.

A good computer education programme should therefore aim not only at teaching
Nigerians how to use the computer effectively for national development but also
at preparing them to master computer technology with a view to ensuring the
maintenance, and eventually the production of computers.

4.2.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMME AT THE TERTIARY LEVEL

University Level

Since 1962 when the National Univesities Commission (NUC) was set up following
the recommendation of Ashby Commission, the NUC has been supervising and
co-ordinating the activities of all the universities in Nigeria. The
Commission has played a major role in the success of the Computer Literacy
Programme in the universities.

It has provided guidelines relating to the minimum hardware and software
environment for the Universities to enable them effectively pursue the computer
literacy programme. Additionally, the Commission has been supporting the
development of curricula and programmes in the universities especially the new
degree programmes in computer science and engineering covering the Bachelors,
Masters and Doctorate degrees.

The computer literacy programmes at the university level have over the years
been directed at:

- establishing and entrenching a computer culture that permeates all activities
in the University;

- producing university graduates who are considered computer literates
irrespective of their course of studies or major disciplines;

- producing Computer Science and Engineering graduates who constitute the core
of professionals in the practice and advancement of Computer Technology;

- conducting research and developing hardware, firmware, software, and
course-ware that will enable the country to attain the latest Computer
Technology capability; and

- ensuring the provision of the manpower and other resources required to meet
the broader objectives of computer literacy at the tertiary, secondary and
primary levels of education, and at the societal level.

4.2.3 Polytechnic and Colleges of Education Level

Apart from the NUC there is also the National Board for Technical Education
(NBTE) which has statutory responsibility for ensuring standards of Education
in Polytechnics and Technical Colleges, and also in co-ordinating the
development, management and funding of Federal Polytechnics and Federal
Technical Colleges. Within this general framework, the NBTE has had the
following specific roles to play in the introduction of Computer Education in
the institutions under its jurisdiction;

- integrating the curriculum for computer literacy at the secondary and
tertiary levels, into the programmes of Polytechnics and Technical Colleges
nation-wide.

overseeing the development of Computer Education programmes at the Colleges
of Education and Polytechnics.

- monitoring the polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education (Technical) to
ensure that they have incorporated tertiary level computer literacy into their
general studies programmes, and that they have acquired adequate facilities for
this.

- promoting and funding adaptive research in the polytechnics for the design,
and development of computer hardware, software and firmware, power systems,
thin-film technology and printed circuit boards.

- integrating the Management Information System scheme into its Computer
Education programme.

- upgrading its in-house Computer capability to a level adequate to the demands
of its statutory tasks.

Under the guidance of NBTE, the Polytechnics in Nigeria have been

performing a number of informatics role in the country. Such

roles include:

- training of technicians and technologists for hardware maintenance, adaptive
designs and development.

- mounting of courses for technicians and technologists for the various levels
of personnel from industry and the community at large.

4.2.4 ESTABLISHMENT OF MIS IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

Management Information System (MIS) was formally introduced into Nigerian
Universities Management systems in 1990 under the auspices of the National
Universities Commission (NUC) to deal

essentially with students, staff and financial records in the universities, and
to provide periodic information reports for all Units within the
Universities.

Training needs were identified as realistic ways of meeting the proposal. The
areas identified as priorities include:

(i) Creating general awareness for MIS;

(ii) Computer appreciation;

(iii) Data collection and processing;

(iv) Data interpretation; and

(v) Computer operations

Each university was requested to set up an MIS Committee with

membership specified by the NUC. The first training assignment of the MIS
committee was to organise training for Principal Officers in order to get them
personally identified with the project and provide leadership and support. This
was to be followed by training of other users in the Registry, Bursary,
Library, Academic Planning etc. For the generality of staff and students, the
MIS Committee was mandated to organise sensitisation and popularisation
campaigns on MIS, its objectives and benefits.

In all the above, in-house training , using the facilities of the computer
centres and/or the computer science department was to be encouraged.

In addition to the above courses, most of the universities, polytechnics and
colleges of education operate short-time courses in Wordprocessing, Database
Management, Spreadsheet and Statistical analyses leading to awards of in-house
certificates and diplomas.At the international level but with the country,
other Informatics activities include the establishment of:

It organises short-time and advance study internship in information technology
and micro-informatics maintenance and training for participants within the West
African sub-region.

2. The Centre for Informatics Research and Training was established at the Ogun
State University to:

(i) facilitate active and meaningful research for development, using
computers;

(ii) serve as a centre for short training programmes in the Africa Commonwealth
region in the area of IT;

(iii) assist researchers in universities and research institutes as well as
practitioners in R & D units of industry to use available resources in the
Centre to solve problems and to meet and exchange ideas with professional
colleagues and update their knowledge; and

(iv) act as a catalyst for initiating research and training programmes in
IT which will eventually benefit the government as well as interested
Commonwealth African countries.

3. The Africa Regional Centre for Information Science (ARCIS) started operating
in November 1990 at the University of Ibadan. A number of international
agencies played important roles in formulating its objectives, organizational
structure and programmes. ARCIS addresses itself to African development
problems that have demonstrable information services components, with a view to
providing both short- and long-term solutions to them.

In pursuance of its objective, ARCIS is involved in the following
activities:

4. conducting research on the problems and prospects of information science in
the rapid socio-economic development of Africa.

5.0. MANAGING TELECOMMUNICATIONS: REGULATORY AND POLICY
ENVIRONMENT

5.1 Introduction

It is generally accepted that an accessible telecommunications capability is a
prerequisite for national economic growth and, therefore, investment in the
telecommunications infrastructure is paramount in any society. Those countries
that developed their telecommunications services in the private domain of the
economy, notably the U.S.A, have demonstrated that communication is big
business and highly profitable. High net worth customers are naturally
attractive to the telecommunications entrepreneur, but on account of the
social benefits of communication, which are central for interpersonal relations
and society's integrity, society has to protect and provide for low density and
less affluent users also. In Nigeria there have been at least four National
Telecommunication Development Plans since 1960 in which efforts have been made
to accord telecommunications some measure of priority at least in financial
terms. However, objectives in one plan period were invariably unaccomplished
during that period and hence have to spill-over to the next. In terms of
achievements in relation to investment, results lagged behind expectations due
to various reasons. Thus although telecommunication development in Nigeria has
followed some pattern, its course was not in accordance with any definite
telecommunications policy. It is in order to stem this tide that the present
administration, like the previous ones, included among its policy objectives,
the establishment of a national telecommunications policy for Nigeria.

5.2 Domestic Challenges

In 1992, the telecommunications industry in Nigeria received its own dosage of
the deregulation elixir in two forms. The first was the commercialisation or
corporatization of Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) while the second was the
establishment of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the
telecommunications industry regulator.

The motivating forces driving the deregulation of telecommunications services
in Nigeria include:

Private consumer and business demand for good quality telecommunications
services at affordable prices and competitiveness;

Need for reduced time for telephone installation and service delivery;

Diversification and complexity of user needs;

Advances in technology;

Demand for improved business efficiency in the face of tight budgets.

Economic development and job creation;

The trend worldwide.

In the light of the above, the Nigerian Government's decision to deregulate
the telecommunications industry has had positive and far-reaching implications
which are expected to provide the needed leverage and act as a catalyst for
various forms of business, economic, social and organisational developments.

The strategic implication of the above is that the core areas of public
switches and trunks and international services have been reserved for the
national operator, NITEL. This is to provide the necessary incentive and
cross-subsidy for services to the rural communities and social services. That
notwithstanding, and in order not to frustrate private sector participation,
government, as a matter of policy, has maintained that the national career -
NITEL is required to:

provide network access and interconnectivity to other licensed operators,

charge fair and competitive tariffs for such access and interconnectivity.

concentrate its efforts and resources on core infrastructure development, i.e.
the provision of public switches and long distance trunk capacity.

In return, it was expected that NITEL will benefit from increased traffic to
be generated through its network by private operators and through enhanced
revenue generation and collection.

The regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission was formally
inaugurated on the 16th of July 1993.

5.2.1 The objectives of the Commission were:

to create a regulatory environment for the supply of telecommunications
services, facilities and to promote fair competition and efficient market
conduct;

to facilitate the entry into markets for telecommunications services and
facilities of persons wishing to supply such services and facilities.

to ensure that licensees or authorised carries and other providers of
telecommunications services and infrastructure meet their commercial
obligations and such other obligations in a manner which promotes cooperation
and fairness;

to protect licensees and the public from unfair conduct of other providers of
telecommunications services, with regard to the quality of service and to the
payment of tariffs;

to ensure that licensees achieve the highest possible level of accountability
and responsiveness to customer and community needs;

to ensure that standard telephone services are supplied as efficiently and
economically as possible and at such performance standards which reasonably
meet the social, industrial, and commercial needs of the community.

to promote the development of other sectors of the Nigerian economy through
the commercial supply of modern telecommunications services.

to establish technical standards and promote the development of Nigeria's
telecommunications capabilities, industries and skills;

to ensure that the Nigerian public have growing access to telecommunications
facilities; and

to optimise the use of telecommunications facilities in Nigeria with due
consideration for the rights of the licensees and the public interest.

5.2.2 FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

The functions of the Commission are as follows:

the responsibility for economic and technical regulation of the privatised
sector of the telecommunications industry;

to ensure the safety and quality of telecommunications services by determining
technical standards and regulating technical execution and performance;

to manage Nigeria's input into the setting of international technical
standards for telecommunications;

the responsibility for giving advice and assistance to the entire Nigerian
telecommunications industry;

the responsibility for giving reports and assistance to the Ministry or
Minister in relation to the telecommunications industry;

the promotion of competition in the telecommunications industry;

the protection of suppliers of telecommunications services or facilities from
unfair practices of other telecommunications supplies which are damaging to
competition.

to facilitate the entry into the market for such services and facilities by
persons wishing to supply such services and facilities;

to undertake studies into space technology and manage the utilisation of
satellite facilities for the benefit of Nigerian operators and users;

the protection of licensees from misuse of market power by other carriers;

the arbitration of disputes between licensees and other participants in the
telecommunications industry;

to receive investigate complaints from licensees, carriers, consumers and
other persons in the telecommunications industry;

to advise the Minister or Secretary on ways of promoting competition within
the telecommunications industry.

the responsibility for the protection of public interest by ensuring that the
provisions of the law are carried out with due regard to public interest;

the protection of consumers from unfair practices of licensees and other
persons in the supply of telecommunications services and facilities;

to develop performance standards and indices relating to the quality of
telephone and other telecommunications services and facilities supplied to
consumers having regard to the best international performance indicators and
Nigerian conditions;

to monitor and report to the Minister or Secretary on charges paid by
consumers, the performance of licensees and other persons in meeting the
standards specified by the Commission;

the issuance of telecommunications licenses;

to monitor the conduct of holders of the licenses and to enforce the
conditions included in the licenses.

5.2.3 BENEFITS

The benefits of the existence of the Nigerian Communication Commission derive
from private sector participation and investment in the telecommunications
Sector and the benefits both immediate and remote have started to manifest in
greater efficiency, greater flexibility, and less stress in the way people
organize their business, economic and social activities. The Nigerian economy
is being stimulated and more wealth created resulting in the provision of
incentives for the development of professionalism in telecommunications service
delivery and for telecommunications professionals to participate more
meaningfully and visibly in the Nigerian economic activities.

The last few years since NITEL was privatised, have witnessed far reaching
changes in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. Changes that were
unprecedented since 1886 when telecommunications was first introduced in
Nigeria.

These changes accompanied the leaps of technological developments and changes
in regulatory regimes of almost all countries in the world. In Nigeria these
reforms include the formation of NITEL in 1985, the commercialisation of the
company in 1992, the promulgation of the decree and subsequent establishment of
the NCC in 1993.

In effect NITEL (PLC) has dedicated more resources into modernisation and
expansion of the following facilities in the national network:-

International and Intercity trunk lines.

Primary and secondary switches.

Deployment of fibre optic technology in the trunk, junction and local line
segments of the network:-

These improvements have enhanced economy of scale and enabled NITEL to achieve
increased efficiency in resource management thereby creating a stable tariff
structure that could now enable users of the facilities to plan their
operations. Another outcome of the modernisation programme was the open network
which allows new service providers to start services with relative ease.
Invariably two grades of carriers have since emerged with Grade I carriers
such as NITEL (PLC) owning transmission channels, and Grade II carriers
renting these channels from NITEL (the Grade I carriers) to provide services to
end-users. NITEL's R & D Department, on its own part, has continued to
investigate the appropriate technologies that could accelerate the network
transformation and enhance the activities of the two carriers.

A cursory overview of the deregulated Nigerian telecommunications sector has
revealed that great opportunities abound for investors to come up with new
products and services. The sheer size of the Nigerian population (100 Million)
and the great strides being made in the economic field as well as the prospects
of providing these services with the assured profitability characteristic of
telecommunications investments are current factors that have instilled some
confidence in the entrepreneur in the Nigerian telecommunications
environment.

Telecommunications, the art and science of information transmission and
circulation earlier regarded as a minor component of infrastructure, became in
the 1980s a strategic factor of development at all levels, from individual
firms to regions and countries. It is the principal factor in National,
Regional and International integration. By eliminating distance,
telecommunications bring together all kinds of partners, saving time and
resources, which are valuable factors in economic development and economic and
social integration. Capitals and large cities around the world are linked by
telecommunications and information networks covering almost all aspects of
business, commerce, education, news, entertainment, etc.

Through telecommunications which is regarded as the medium which replaces the
physical movement of people across distances. the world has become smaller
than at any time in the past and it is even getting smaller and smaller for the
benefit and enhancement of world peace. Indeed, communications, financial
transactions and trade, as well as a large share of the manufacturing sector,
could come to a virtual standstill without telecommunications.

Telecommunications is at the fore front of current economic and social
affairs. The digitalization of networks globally has further destroyed the
boundaries which separated them from the fields of electronics and computing.
The resultant multiplication of tele-services and their increasing
sophistication have exploded the technical and commercial limitations which
previously existed. The evolution has been decisive and here in Nigeria, has
followed from technical facts and not political will.

Today, the challenge of meeting the large and rising demand is being met by
moving toward a sector structure that is plural and competitive, with a mix of
service providers - private and public, using various technologies and offering
services tailored to different user needs.

Propelled mainly by current technological advances, the telecommunications
arena in Nigeria has started to undergo profound structural changes, giving
rise to cheaper and more reliable telecommunications equipment and services on
the one hand, and on the other, a whole new range of services. Public
telecommunications is moving rapidly from protected national markets with huge
cross-subsidies between certain services to global competitive markets. Public
Telecommunications Operators (PTOs) are now responding to this liberalization
challenge by becoming corporatized and in some cases also privatized. In order
to respond to global competition, joint ventures and other forms of alliances
are increasingly being established between the major PTOs and equipment
manufacturers. New operators are also being established focusing in particular
on telecommunications growth areas such as integrated telecommunications
services for multinational companies, international telephony and mobile
telephony.

For any development process, it is vital to have horizontal information
channels that activate all sectors of the population and facilitate access to
decision-making for otherwise excluded sectors.

An equally eloquent expression of the same point was made in the "Report on
Means of Enabling Active Participation in the Communication Process and
Analysis of the Right to Communicate", presented at the nineteenth Unesco
General Conference at Nairobi in 1976. It reads:

In the past, the role of communication in society was seen essentially as to
inform and influence people. It is now being proposed that communication
should be understood as a process of social intercourse through a balanced
exchange of information and experience... This shift in perception implies the
predominance of dialogue over monologues. This aim is to achieve a system of
horizontal communication based upon equitable distribution of resources and
facilities enabling all persons to send as well as to receive messages.

This new perspective of the role of communication in society was indeed
acknowledged and applauded by the participants at the Intergovernmental
Conference on Communication Policies in Africa when they asserted that the
people of the rural communities should no longer be regarded as mere listeners
but rather as actual 'animators', creators of news and participants both in the
process of producing information and in programmes for their society. In other
words, the time is past when the masses of the people should only be
communicated at. It is time to start thinking of communicating with them.

However, in spite of the above, the communication system of most Third World
countries is heavily biased in favour of the urban elite. The urban elite
monopolises the available information, which makes the information flow
vertical, skewed, and not calculated to ensure participation of the majority of
the population. There is, in other words, differential access to information
which has resulted in apathy and the alienation of a very large proportion of
the citizens of these countries. For authentic national development to take
place, there is therefore the need to alter the pattern in favour of a system
which stresses lateral, two-way communication.

Telegraph service was opened in Lagos on September 2nd, 1886. In spite of what
appeared to be an early start, the development of telecommunication service in
the country has been slow. Up until the 50's for example, government and large
business concerns were the primary users of telephone services, they were
probably the only users who could afford the service as the per capital gross
national product was then rather low.

With the advent of the oil boom in the 70's, however, the economic situation
changed and this was followed by a dramatic increase in demand for telephone
service. As the installed telecommunication infrastructure could not cope with
the rising demand, the quality of service began to deteriorate. To arrest the
worsening situation, the Federal government took significant measures in the
3rd and 4th national development plans (1975-1985) by allocating a total of
about 5.5 billion for the modernisation and expansion of public
telecommunication service. These measures were designed to increase the number
of installed telephone lines by more than ten-fold in the ten year period.
However, as the world we live in is a world of innovations in different facets
of life, the technological giant leaps of this last decade of the twentieth
century call for new and innovative approaches to modern management methods in
the telecommunication industry. There is no way the traditional monopolistic
system of the telecommunication industry can survive the 21st century in view
of the rapidly changing telecommunication environment. The way out is for all
countries to accept that changes must of necessity come and therefore find ways
of addressing pertinent issues at a convenient and reasonable pace, relative to
each nation's condition, so that when it eventually comes, no nation will be
caught unawares. The I.T.U's Telecom '95 Exhibitions with the Technology and
Strategic Summits of the associated Forum series, clearly testified to this
statement. At this forum, Information Technology which utilizes computers,
telecommunications, video, reprographic and many micrographic equipment were
put on display to offer diverse solutions to developing countries. This
integration of data, voice and image, together with flexible communications
networks, means that a variety of technology applications are now available.

It is essential, nonetheless, that Information Technology should be adequately
managed. Nations are becoming aware of the need to manage information in the
planned way that they manage other key resources. Information Technology must
be well integrated into the overall management structure of a nation and we
haven't achieved this yet in Nigeria. This will soon be achieved through the
National Telecommunications Policy now being finalised.

In terms of computers and computer applications, the evolution of information
Technology is very rapid. Hardware costs are falling (even here in Nigeria)
and its power is increasing. User-friendly interfaces and new software are
also bringing technology closer to end-users, significantly modifying the
technical specialist role. For telecommunications, the application of wireless
technology has also brought into focus faster and cheaper extension of service
to the end user.

7.2 The Information and Communications Environment (Infrastructure and
Infostructure).

That the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria attaches great
importance to telecommunications industry in the country because of its
potential in promoting the commercial, industrial, socio-economic as well as
political development and unity of Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. In
addition, the government fully supports the need to meet the customers and
business demands for good quality telecommunications services, reduced time for
telephone installation and service delivery, diversification and complexity of
users needs, advances in technology, demand for improved business efficiency in
the face of tight budgets, cost reductions and competitiveness as well as the
trend world over.

Telecommunications has been described above as so vital to human existence:
its very essence hinges on the basic fundamental rights of individuals,
nonetheless there is a correlation between the state of a country's
telecommunications infrastructure and its state of development, just as a
relationship can be established between a country's gross domestic product and
its relative position in an increasingly globalised economy and boarderless
world.

At the current 0.66 telephone lines per 100 population, Nigeria's
telecommunications industry can be said to be in the state of development. This
is also evident in the quality of life of Nigerians and the nature of the
business environment.

Given the capital intensive nature of the industry and the enormity of the
shortfall in Nigeria there is no doubt that the development of
telecommunications services in Nigeria is too heavy a burden to be borne by
Government alone. Indeed many Government administrations are having to change
their methods of operating, in response to declining resources and increasing
demands for public services.

One evident outcome of the influence of the development in communication
policy formulation in the Third World is the fact that for the past two decades
governments in these countries have been forced, either by persuasion or
pressure, to invest heavily in the acquisition of modern telecommunication
facilities with the aim of modernising their mass communication institutions
and enhancing their technical capacities to generate and disseminate
information widely. As a result, the technological growth of the communication
systems in the developing world in the past few decades has been so phenomenal
that on comparative terms the "change has been rapid in the less developed
countries and slow in the advanced countries". But this development in the
technical capacities of Third World National communication system has been
largely unplanned and, has been in utter neglect of some important dimensions
of the communicative process. For example, the acquisition of more modern
technical facilities for the modernisation of national communication systems in
Third World countries has been undertaken without much consideration being
given to the structural character of the society within which the institution
has to operate and in relation to the desirable state of corporate existence
shared by a broad segment of the citizenry and borne out of their historical
and contemporary experiences.

7.3 Communication Institution Info-Structures

The institution of modern mass communication - newspapers, radio, television,
magazine - in most of the developing Third World including Nigeria is, like the
institutions of modern political, economic and socio-cultural formations in
these places.

Although news media institutions all over the world have common functions of
information, education and entertainment, their remarkable characteristics are
never determined in vacuum but by the extent to which those common media
activities are organised to serve as instruments for the development,
refinement and propagation of specific ideologies or world views that
distinguish one media nation from another.

The preceding discussions have led to certain general conclusions about what a
national communication policy in the specific circumstances of Nigeria should
incorporate. First, the issue of the fundamental philosophy of the social
order within which the news media processes and the communication needs of the
society and appropriate resources - human and technological - are organised,
harnessed and systematised clearly in policies. The requirement of the news
media is not simply to propagate such views of corporate existence, but to
provide avenues for their greater articulation, refinement, assimilation and
incorporation into the personal world views of the majority of the citizens.
The world view to be advanced must not only be those that advance our vision of
life but those that do not run counter to our ethical and moral notions of
human existence, corporate relations and collective conscience. Second, the
policy must be able to provide clear and articulate structures for the vivid
expressions of these values. It makes little or no sense for policy to state,
at the global philosophical level lofty human ideals and virtues only to fail
at the concrete operational level to provide adequate organisational and
infrastructural facilities to advance those ideas. At the level of our foreign
relations, for instance, the organisation of our international communication
outfits and their locations in the world should be able to articulate both in
symbolic and substantive terms what human values we wish to advance, who we
think shares those values and how if conditions were stacked in our favour we
would like to order the world. Domestically, there is the need for policy to
ensure that the channels for mass communication are neither concentrated in the
hands of few powerful individuals nor aggregated in few cities to avoid
conveying the impression of essentially important and not so important segments
of the general population in the national life. Third, there is the need for
policy to provide for regulatory mechanisms that will ensure that while the
desired inherited tradition of freedom of expression and the press is upheld
and furthered as a dominant feature of the social structure, it is not employed
for the advancement or protection of those values that contradict the essential
basis of the society.

Institutions are the basic organisational framework through which modern
nations function. The notion and essence of nationhood which a people hold,
the sentiments, emotions and judgements they express about their collective
identity and collective aspirations, their vision of the future and their
commitment to its realisation, as well as the fundamental human values that
characterise their psychosocial behaviourial patterns, are usually embedded in,
and articulated by the structure of their institutional arrangements and roles,
designed to meet the needs of their community. In short, the values which are
inherent in the structure of a society's institution-order, generally
constitute the primary force for the ordering of symbols that facilitate
communication among its various groups, as well as the underlying processes
that characterise the dynamic aspects of their social interaction and
productive activities. Concern for the fundamental values that underpin a
society's institutional arrangement and roles, with fundamental values that
underpin a society's institutional arrangement and roles, with particular
sensitivity to their adequacy or otherwise to satisfy the basic human
aspirations and needs of the people, at any point in their corporate
development, is therefore an imperative consideration in the formulation of a
proper national communication policy for the governance of modern states.

7.4 A FRAMEWORK FOR NATIONAL COMMUNICATION POLICY

There is no doubt that a standard national communication and information
policy could produce a homogenisation of thought and serve as veritable
instruments for the wholesome integration and participation of all segments of
a plural society in the life of a nation, for the equitable distribution of the
resources available for exchange of ideas and information among various groups
and sectors of the society, for a balanced flow of messages within all points
in the land and among its citizens, as well as for the deliberate deployment of
collective resources in the service of all. What therefore is of crucial
importance in the formulation of a national communication policy, is a clear
conception of the kind of society a nation wants for itself.

In Nigeria, for example, an enlightened national communication policy must
therefore dovetail to the fundamental objectives and directive principles of
the state, as enshrined in Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1979. This section provides, inter alia:

1. For the establishment of a state and government based on the principles of
democracy and justice and the composition of organs of the state in a manner as
to reflect the federal character of the nation -- i.e. recognising the
diversity of the peoples of the Nigerian nation and the need to promote a sense
of belonging and loyalty among all the people through appointments and
distribution of resources for active participation in the life of the nation,

2. Establishing the necessary conditions for the promotion of national
integration through the provision of adequate facilities for the encouragement
of free mobility of people, goods and services, including ideas and thoughts,
throughout the nation,

3. Fostering the feeling of belonging and involvement among the various
peoples of the Federation in the life of the nation,

4. Promotion of planned and balanced economic development and ensuring that
the economic system, including, of course, the means for the production of
information and capacity to communicate, is not operated in such a manner as to
permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in
the hands of a few individuals or of a group,

5. Ensuring equality of rights, obligations and opportunities before the law,
as well as the independence and impartiality and integrity of courts of law,

6. Ensuring equal and adequate education, including public enlightenment, at
all levels of state organisation,

7. Promotion of African Unity, as well as total political, economic, social
and cultural liberation of Africa and combating racial discrimination in all
its manifestations,

8. The protection and enhancement of authentic Nigerian culture, and

9. The fostering of the obligation of the press, to monitor governance in all
its ramifications.

Nigeria, like some other nations in Africa, occupies such strategic position
on the continent. An enlightened national communication policy for Nigeria, as
well as for similarly located strategic countries in Africa, ought therefore to
have the issues of regional solidarity, collective African self-affirmation and
the defence of all Africa's interests in the world community as part of the
core of its international communication goals.

The national communication policy, when enacted should therefore spell out in
broad terms what the national objectives should be for the establishment and
operation of radio and television broadcasting in the country. Below are some
suggestions for consideration:

1. The provision of efficient broadcasting services to the entire people of
the Federation of Nigeria, based on national objectives and aspirations.
Specifically, radio broadcasting should satisfy the needs of external audiences
in accordance with Nigeria's foreign policy.

2. The provision of a professional and comprehensive coverage of Nigerian
culture in terms of promoting the cultural development and growth through
constructive, result oriented research, and to publicise the results of such
research works for the benefit of the people.

3. To ensure that the positive contribution of the media is geared towards the
development of the Nigerian society and also towards the promotion of national
unity and integration, by making sure that there is a balanced presentation of
views from all parts of the country.

4. To ensure that there is regular delivery of accurate information to the
people.

5. To provide a better opportunity for healthy discussion of important issues
of national interest designed to enlighten and mobilize the public.

6. To provide a regular channel of communication between the Government and
the people.

7. To promote research on various aspects of communication media and their
effects on Nigerian society. Such research should embrace audience research,
innovative methods of production and authentic indigenisation of broadcasting
media. Furthermore, the research should determine, on a continuous basis, the
criteria for the censorship of films and books, for the protection of our
political, economic, social and cultural interests.

8. With regards to dissemination of information, the mandatory functions of
the broadcast media should be the promotion of development objectives in such
areas as health, economy, education, utilities, food production,
infrastructural and industrial development.

9. Commercial broadcasting should reflect clearly defined national values,
norms and other national interests that may not necessarily entail financial
profit.

10. The broadcast media should be used as a formidable weapon for the
mobilization of the people of the country for the overall good of the nation.

Policy on broadcasting also made provision for the establishment of a national
communication regulatory body. The body is empowered to lay down rules, set up
standards, enforce broadcasting codes, and make recommendations on matters
relating to issuance and withdrawal of broadcasting licences to private
broadcasting organisations. In this connection, the following objectives for
the national regulatory body were planned to be found functional:

1. To guarantee on a permanent basis the loftiest ideals of excellence in
broadcasting.

2. To provide regulatory jurisdiction for all broadcasting stations in the
federation, in terms of national, state, privately-owned or commercial
broadcasting stations.

3. To set moral and ethical standards for national and international
broadcasting and to monitor and control such standards.

4. To promulgate a standard of programme service which would meet the tastes,
needs and desires of all groups of the public.

5. To make broadcasting impartial.

6. To ensure the rationalisation of broadcasting activity and a co-ordination
of broadcasting development.

7. To arrange for the location of transmitters as to ensure that all parts of
the country can receive national programmes.

8. To undertake a continuous assessment of overall broadcasting requirements
of the nation and the development of long-term coordination and rationalisation
plans.

8.0 ON-GOING SUPPORTIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INITIATIVES

NITEL is now being configured for a joint-venture ownership of a number of
privately-owned facilities. For example, the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) optical fibre telecommunications network (Figure 2) is being
considered for a joint-venture ownership by the NNPC and members of the Public
with additional transmission links (radio and optical cable) to raise access
for the international service.

Already, the NNPC optical fibre network has offered a stiff competition to
NITEL in the provision of high-speed leased lines and digital telephone service
on certain routes while the cellular telephone network has offered a stiff
competition to NITEL's domestic telephone service.

The opportunities for the early growth of VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminals)
in satellite communications via the NCC-controlled space segments, is another
factor which, when fully operational, will accelerate the development of
Domestic Operators and User Networks in Nigeria. VSAT is fully deregulated in
Australia, Japan and the US, and is also been gradually deregulated here in
Nigeria.

When deciding policies on technical development of telecommunications, one
must take into consideration such parameters as Population, Economy of the
Nation and National Target.

The present aspiration of the Nigerian Telecommunications authority is to
attain the telephone density of 1 to 100 as defined in the Lagos Plan of
Action, Declaration of Lome and Arusha Declaration, of which Nigeria is a
signatory. Consequently, the Ministry of Communications is found to be
pursuing the following objectives on the development of telecommunications
services, in future, in order to achieve self reliance by the year 2000.

(a) Support for the government's programme of rural infrastructure development
by extending telephone service to the rural areas in an economic and judicious
manner.

(b) Campaign for the recognition, by the government, of telecommunications as
a support component for other development sectors such as agriculture, tourism,
health and education so as to ensure that the funding necessary for the
telecommunication facilities required is included in the development plans for
these sectors.

(c) Adoption of an operation and maintenance strategy that will ensure maximum
utilisation of the existing facilities and provision of good quality service in
order to generate adequate funds for further development of the network.

(d) Standardisation,a pre-requisite for local manufacture, being embarked
upon, covering equipment and materials operations and architecture as
applicable.

(e) Local manufacture of materials, components and systems in partnership with
good intentioned industrial entrepreneurs, to enhance maintenance of existing
systems, to establish a technological base necessary for achievement of self
reliance in telecommunications technology.

(f) Tapping available resources for the financing of the implementation of
well designed and economical viable projects for rehabilitation, maintenance
and new installations.

(g) Establishing a suitable management structure for the implementation of the
development programmes.

(h) Operating a tariff structure which will ensure enhanced revenue generation
from urban facilities without discouraging the use of rural facilities.

(i) Establishment of Research and Development facilities where special
investigations, pilot projects will be carried out.

(j) Intensive local or in-plant training and re-training of executive
technical manpower.

(k) Co-operation with other Administrations and the CCIT on frequency spectrum
management.

(l) Adoption of suitable planning and forecasting approach to determine the
exact requirements for a project to ensure that it will be correctly
implemented and successfully put into service.

(m) Increase the available telephone lines in the country to above one million
to achieve the target density of 1 percent for a population of 100 million.

(n) To ensure that all citizens of the country are within easy reach of
telephone service by the year 2000 and other services which telecommunications
can provide, thereafter.

It has to be explained how complex it is to run a telecommunication network.
One has to consider technology, finance, planning, maintenance, procurement,
personnel, training, to mention a few. Presently, about 70 per cent of the
Nigerian population have no access to telephone services. Despite the massive
expansion of the telecommunications network during the last decade, the
national coverage remains small, concentrated and congested.

8.1 Government Policy and Strategies on Technology Development

The technology policies and strategies recently enunciated by government are
geared to ensure the continuous and sustained upliftment of general quality of
life and national security, through self-reliance, in the shortest possible
time, compatible with the optimal utilisation of the nation's resources and
cultural life patterns. The policies are:

i) In all aspects of the day-to-day activities of the nation, advantage must
be taken of technological development.

ii) Major government projects involving imported technology shall be procured
in an "unpackaged" form.

iv) Organisations that maintain locally based research and development
activities shall receive special incentives.

v) Important national development projects shall not be based on unproven
foreign technologies.

Some of the strategies for implementing the stated policy objectives are:

i) Fostering, promoting and sustaining technology development programmes to
rehabilitate, refurbish and replace existing industries, plants and components
by local and other efforts;

ii) Intensifying programmes in technology development in both public and
private industrial, educational and service establishments;

iii) Controlling the mode of foreign investments in industries with a view to
ensure technology acquisition within a specific time frame;

iv) Ensuring that technology-based private and public enterprises maintain
functional research and development units in the country.

v) Run the electronic industries for the fabrication and manufacture of
equipment and spare-parts.

8.2 MODERNISATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN NIGERIA

As a result of advances in technology rapid changes are taking place in
telecommunications. These changes have had a profound effect on
telecommunications particularly in the areas of computerisation, digitalization
and regulatory policy.

Advances in technology are also responsible for the rapid decline in the price
of electronic computers consequently they are now in such a widespread use that
computer terminals constitute a significant proportion of the connections to
the telecommunication network. The combination of electronic computers and
telecommunications has ushered in the information age. An age where
information has become an essential commodity for the running of business and
our daily life. In several countries there is a rush to modernise
telecommunications to cope with the demands of the information age. The need
for modernisation is not only to satisfy anticipated demand, it also includes
the desire to use the innovations brought about by new technologies to provide
employment opportunities and to create prosperity.

In Nigeria work started recently, on telecommunications project which would
introduce at least 130,000 digital telephone lines in Lagos. This project
involves construction of new exchanges and expansion of some existing ones. It
is being financed with a World Bank Loan.

The new exchanges which are also being located in the suburbs of Lagos are to
have a total of 5,000 digital lines.

A new transmission facility involving digitalizing about 30 repeater stations
to link Lagos state with Kano is also in the current development plan.

These projects are part of NITEL'S massive network expansion programme aimed
at modernising and extending services to more Nigerians. Other services outside
Lagos, the headquarters of NITEL, include the newly introduced 20,000 digital
lines into the telephone network in Ibadan Oyo State to cover the Western zone
of the country. The project was executed at a cost of N1.33 billion.

Other digital exchanges recently switched into the network in the South West
zone are Abeokuta Exchange with 6,000 lines, Warri Exchange with 5,000 lines
and the Benin (central) Exchange with 10,000 lines. Ilorin which is in the
North West Zone was also switched into the network with 6,000 lines. Similarly,
NITEL introduced into its networks, in 1995, a data transmission system which
is known as X.25 packet switching. The system allows for point to point and
point to multi-point data transmission with and between organisations.

The X.25 packet switching system was introduced because data
telecommunications systems have become a vital and strategic tool required to
launch the country into a new phase of growth and International relations.
Plans are on to expand the X.25 system which has one node to a multi-node
network to cover the whole country.

The new service was said to be introduced as a value-added network service as
allowed under the deregulation policy of the government. The new service also
allows the investment of human and material resources in the delivery of
reliable and cost effective services.

9.0 Human Resources for Information Development

Although telecommunications is a capital intensive business, proper personnel
planning and procedures are indispensable if it is to be efficiently run.

An efficient telecommunications system depends on the calibre and skill of its
managerial staff. It is vitally important to ensure a sufficient supply of
managers, with personality and intellect equal to the complex demands of
telecommunications. All potentially good managers within the organisation must
be identified, and properly developed. If good managers or functional
specialists like accountants cannot be found within the organisation, they must
be brought in from outside. The administration is advised to be prepared to
provide adequate incentives (salaries, working conditions, etc) which will
attract and retain a permanent force of competent managers and functional
specialists.

The calibre of first and second line supervision is just as important as that
of more senior line management. It is a characteristic of telecommunications
that it depends on the actions of a large number of staff scattered in small
and often mobile groups, who by the quality and productivity of their work
largely determine the success of the enterprise. In these circumstances, first
line supervision has a particularly important and difficult job to do.
Supervisors must be selected not just because they are proficient in the skills
needed to do the work they have to supervise, but also for their potential as
leaders and organisers of work.

In the circumstances of a developing country, it is vital that there should be
adequate facilities for training every level of staff in the work they have to
do. Managers need a thorough understanding of modern business technology, of
its potential and of the very wide range of problems to which it gives rise.
Supervisors must be taught the skills of management and organisation.
Technical staff must be trained in the skills appropriate to the kind of work
they will have to do - maintaining high technology equipment, installing and
maintaining cables and so on.

In many developing countries, labour costs are relatively low, and it may be
more economical to continue to perform certain functions in a labour intensive
way, rather than to use capital intensive high technology equipment. What is
important is that, with the privatisation of NITEL services, the rate of
increase in staff numbers must be kept lower than the rate of growth of
business, so that labour productivity steadily improves. However, there must
be recognition of the impact of technology and equipment investment. Staff
costs are such a large part of the operating expenses of any telecommunication
enterprises that productivity must be treated as an essential policy objectives
if the authority concerned is to run efficiently and maintain its financial and
economic viability. In addition to the general funding system, it is
recommended that NITEL should spend up to 10 per cent of its allocated funds
for local system capability development and deployment. This allocation will
be used to develop the prototypes and must incorporate controls to minimise
waste. A suitable set of guidelines for optimal utilisation of this fund are
that:

i) The release of funds must be phased so as to reflect the amount of activity
in the sector, otherwise saturation or starvation could occur both leading to
disastrous consequences;

ii) Information flow must be maintained and all R & D units carefully
locked into training groups to ensure a continuous renewal of talent so as to
avoid stagnation;

iii) Overheads such as buildings and other auxiliaries should be strictly
controlled so as to avoid wastage and abuse.

iv) Production facilities should be shared initially with entrepreneurs who
may in fact ultimately take over most of the R & D function for new
technologies once such a culture is entrenched.

Still on human resources development, the UN-NADAF (United Nations New Agenda
for the Development of Africa) in the 1990s requested UNESCO to play leadership
role in the areas of human resources development, capacity building including
scientific research and the transfer of technology for sustainable development,
democratic participation in the development process and the promotion and
respect of human rights. This resulted in the launching in 1989 by UNESCO, the
Priority Africa programme along the lines of emphasis outlined in the Lagos
Plan of Action for the Development of Africa (1980-2000). In pursuance of
these aims, UNESCO organised in February 1995, a conference titled "Audience
Africa" designed to identify the priorities for African development by a cross
section of actors in the African scene from government, non-governmental
organisations, politicians, cultural and scientific communities. This
conference has among other achievements produced a series of recommendations on
capacity building in Africa, particularly in the crucial field of science and
technology. Earlier in 1994, UNESCO launched the International Fund for the
Technological Development in Africa with an allocation of One million dollars
as a start-up contribution. The organisation is committed to ensure "an
enhanced flow of resources from the international community to support domestic
efforts in Africa."

Capacity building in Science and Technology depends on a sound base of human
resources development. A command of literacy and numeracy is a pre-condition
for successful learning in science and technology and in other fields. The key
to development that is self-reliant and sustainable is education. Given the
vast expanse of African countries and the problems of transportation facing the
continent, education can be more rapidly fostered through the installation of
mass and rapid communication systems. One of the objectives of establishing the
Telecommunication Foundation of Africa (TFA) was to assist in bringing African
countries closer to the global information society. This objective is
apparently being pursued here in Nigeria through active cooperation with
networks such as the Regional Informatics Network for Africa, a programme
conceived by the Inter-governmental Information Programme of UNESCO and which
is being financed by a grant of the Italian government and by a contribution
from the Republic of Korea. The officially designated RINAF's national node
for Nigeria is based at the National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM)
located at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. NACETEM, through RINAF
actively cooperates with and was co-founder of the Nigerian Internet Group.
UNESCO is instrumental to the establishment of both NACETEM in Nigeria and the
RINAF initiative. There is no doubt that judging from the array of continental
activities, a good foundation is being laid for the integration of Africa into
the global communication system. UNESCO's Intergovernmental Information
Programme (IIP) in its implementation of the Informafrica regional strategy has
introduced informatics into the education system in selected African countries
including Nigeria. IIP has supported the training of informatics specialists
and users in collaboration with research and training institutes and is helping
to facilitate entry of young people and women into working life. IIP plans to
extend its activities under RINAF to include a growing number of African
institutions to further consolidate the joint activities of African scientists
in education and administration.

Therefore, in pursuance of its commitment to the use of informatics and on
human resources for information development efforts in education, UNESCO is
also promoting the development of a Satellite University of Science and
Technology (SUST), an inter-university network to broaden global educational
exchange via satellite broadcasting. UNESCO initiated SUST in collaboration
with the National Technology University, Colorado USA in its belief that in the
long run, education via the airwaves is a cost effective and equitable manner
of delivering knowledge to the work place and the house. SUST is being planned
to produce post-graduate, scientific and lifelong learning programmes for
distribution to participating schools, universities, homes and workplaces. To
do so each site will have a satellite transmitter, an Internet link and video
production facilities. With the successful implementation of on-going efforts
in Nigeria, this country should be in a position to benefit from the
opportunities for scientific and technological manpower development which SUST
will provide given the scarcity of human resources and technical facilities
available in the country.

With the Cairo University of Egypt serving as the Arab host of SUST, Nigeria
representing 20% of Africa's population is also planning to serve as the
African host for SUST in order to bring the benefits of scientific and
technological education to a sizeable proportion of Africa and enhance the
country's capacity for sustainable economic growth.

The initiative that has led to this collaborative effort between a RINAF node
and the TFA a non-governmental organisation will certainly lead to the
elaboration of strategies that will help African countries to develop those
telecommunication infrastructures that will enhance person to person
communication, electronic mail, person to group communication and provide
access to data among African scientists, researchers as well as industries.

NITEL is currently planning to pursue the execution of a number of programmes
to strengthen the network in the midst of deregulation. The programmes are:

(a) Massive training and re-training of engineers and technologists to cope
with intensive maintenance demand.

(b) Organisation of annual national maintenance seminars and workshops and also
for systems utilization level and plan.

(f) Establishment of a third-level National Repairs and Calibration Centre for
equipment refurbishment repairs, consequent upon the absence of manufacturing
facilities in the country.

Closely related to the above is the need for collaboration to ensure that
equipment is compatible and of acceptable quality. To set the rules of the
game in the midst of equipment with varying standards, the NCC is empowered to
seize the initiative to define national standards for a harmonized network.
Not only will systems be required to support optional network requirements,
they must also be adaptable to meeting future services specification
requirements with minimal software/firmware/hardware upgrades or
modifications.

10.0 EXAMPLES: SUCCESS CASES, NATIONAL EFFORTS, SECTORAL EFFORTS

The achievements, to date, from these development efforts have resulted in the
establishment of the following telecommunications facilities:

(a) 227 analogue automatic telephone switching centres with an installed total
capacity of about 400,000 lines out of more than 205,000 lines have been
connected:

(e) A co-axial cable system (960 voice channels) between Lagos and Kaduna.

(f) A domestic satellite system with three Gateways at Lanlate (Lagos), Kujama
(Kaduna) and Enugu.

(h) A submarine cable system linking Lagos with Abidjan, Dakar and Casablanca
and carrying about 10 per cent of the Lagos Gateway traffic as well as
providing an alternative route for international services when the satellite
circuits fail.

One of the other major achievements of NITEL was the expansion of the
telecommunications network from 207,000 line in 1985 to over 500,000 installed
lines in 1995. The staff-to-line ratio of 180 staff to 1000 lines in 1985
progress to 14 staff to 1,000 lines in 1995. Major network expansion and
modernisation projects were also carried out within the period. Such projects
have led to the:

1. Modernisation of the network to ensure reliability and effective network
services and performance.

2. Network expansion for improved revenue generation.

3. Provision of value-added services like voice mails.

4. Customer care

5. Detailed billing.

Following from the promulgation of decree 75 of 1992, private firms have now
started to venture into telecommunications services in Nigeria. One of such
companies is the Info Communications Ltd which works in partnership with U.S.
Sprint (one of the world's leaders in telecommunications) to provide a global
data solution for the Nigerian marketplace.

Utilizing one of the most sophisticated equipment manufactured by Alcatel,
Info Communications X.25 packet switching network provides the following
services:

Info Communications has already finalized discussions with U.S. sprint on the
implementation of full Internet services in Nigeria.

10.1 Electronic Connectivity in Nigeria: The Awareness Level

One example of the electronic connectivity infrastructure in Nigeria is that
of the electronic networking of the Nigerian Universities evolved from the need
to improve on the information interchange within the Nigerian University
System, through the establishment of strong, regular and reliable links between
the universities and the global academic community for the speedy and accurate
exchange of information needed to enhance the effectiveness and efficient
running of the universities particularly with regards to information on:

* Research - facilities, manpower, funds...;

* Published scientific papers - national and international;

* Conferences, seminars and workshops

* Strategic and tactical planning of universities.

In September, 1994, the National Universities Commission (NUC) set-up an
Electronic Mail (E-Mail) Committee to examine the feasibility, eventual
introduction, and full utilization of electronic mail system within and beyond
the Nigerian University System. Following its inauguration, the Committee
elaborated a methodology and a time-table for carrying out its assignment, as
well as a strategy for attaining the specific goals set for it.

A feasibility study was carried out in 1995 in eleven carefully selected
Federal Universities. The result shows that the level of computer awareness and
its utilization is above average. However, awareness of electronic
communication technology is very low while its utilization is virtually
non-existent and limited to very few individuals and departments that have
linkage arrangements with international research and funding agencies.
Intra-and inter-campus communication, as well as international communication,
is heavily dependent upon regular postal and courier services, largely due to
non-existent of or unreliable telephone and telefax services. Bulky textual
material is conveyed nationally and internationally almost entirely by regular
mail. A detailed report of the survey is presented in another section of this
document

The feasibility study also revealed that there is no comprehensive Local Area
Network (LAN) installation in all the institutions investigated. The exception
is the National Universities Commission (NUC) where there is a node UNIX based
LAN in place. The virtual absence of computer networks and e-mail services in
Nigerian universities underscores the isolation of Nigerian academics, one of
the serious consequences of which is the quality of postgraduate training and
research. Nigeria, an integral part of the global village, is yet to apply her
numerous resources fully in becoming an information driven society where
individual and corporate efficiency are enhanced by the use of computers.

Computing in developed countries has since given way to the era of computer
networking - where individual computers are interconnected for greater
efficiency and better information management via telecommunication lines.

Currently, only a few countries in Africa have Internet nodes that provide
full access to all Internet services. Other countries including Nigeria are
just forming local networks first, often using Fidonet technology and then
connecting into the Internet through a central service. Figures 3, 4 and 5 show
plans being currently promoted by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to
link the Nigerian University community to the global world of information and
communication.

Similarly, it is estimated that a sum of $378,940.00 will be required by the
Nigerian Internet Group (NIG) to get Nigeria fully connected into the global
computer network, Internet. This amount covers expenses to be incurred on
computers and accessories, staff, offices, equipment and telecommunications.

A breakdown of the amount showed that the highest amount of $264,500 would be
spent on one international telephone connection of a 64KB international leased
line for a period of two years. Computers, accessories on one hand, and staff,
offices and equipment on another hand, will gulp $76,849 and $37,600
respectively.

10.2 THE CABECA AND OTHER INITIATIVES

After the not too successful approach of connecting the University of
Ibadan to the Electronic Communications world with the assistance of the
Capacity Building for Electronic Communications in Africa (CABECA) of the Pan
African Development Information Systems (PADIS) of the ECA, Addis Ababa,
several suggestions have been offered as to linking up the university to the
rest of the world-wide academic community through the E-mail and through other
communication facilities.

Initially there were three options open to the university. These are:

1. Accepting the offer of CABECA to link up to the Green-Net in London for
which PADIS accepted to write off all expenses incurred by the university for 6
months.

2. Utilizing the services of the Commercial Vendors (similar to utilizing the
services of the DHL. IMNL, UPS, RED STAR, IAS etc in normal postal system). In
electronic Communications there are now quite a number of these vendors. The
biggest of them all with wide coverage is the COMPUSERVE which has outlets in
London, the USA and South Africa.

Consideration of the Above Options

1. The PADIS offer was tried three times and failed. The failure of this
approach was attributed to:

i. resultant breakdown of the supplied modems due to power surge.

ii. non availability of a user manual to back up operation of the system which
had in most cases made error corrections difficult.

iii.lack of a dedicated system operator to assist users process outbound
messages and forward incoming messages to owners.

2. The second option of utilizing the services of any of the available
commercial vendors is the fastest and most reliable though it costs some money
depending on usage. In addition, the university has to be responsible for the
NITEL charges for the period it stays on line. This may not be more than 30
minutes a day of NITEL bill for the first 3 to 6 months of usage and higher
prices thereafter.

Having abandoned the above options because of operational problems, the
University of Ibadan is now linked to the internet from a computer at the
Kenneth Dike Library of the University through a link with a computer system at
Rhodes University, South Africa, which serves as the gateway to the Internet.

This linkage is a significant milestone of an on-going project to establish a
campus e-mail grid of faculties, departments and units of the University which
will then hook up to the outside world through the link.

So far, as of February 16 1995, a total of 174 calls were made within 3 months
to Rhodes University by the UI-AAUnet mail server computer.

Also, the Latunde Odeku Library, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, is
presently offering effective and readily accessible e-mail services within the
university system. The e-mail system was established in May 1995 by a UCH
alumni group based in the USA. The group donated the microcomputer, modem and
software, and pays for telephone and gateway connect charges at the USA end.

A project similar to the Odeku Library e-mail facility has also been proposed
by the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA). The
Association hopes to make UI and up to four other institutions coordinating
nodes of a network to link medical colleges in Nigeria with a gateway in the
USA. The Association plans to provide and install equipment, train operational
personnel, pay for connectivity link to the internet.

While private telecommunication operators are still expected to take advantage
of the deregulated environment, NITEL remains the sole provider of public
telecommunication services in Nigeria. The preceding sections have enumerated
those services currently being offered by NITEL as the sole provider of
telecommunication facilities in Nigeria. Other organisations whose facilities
are capable of providing necessary electronic connectivity for the economic
development of the country include:

ii. NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation)

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) currently uses optical
fibre routes for its data communications activities. One stretch of the route
starts from Warri through Abudu, Auchi, Lokoja, Abaji and Serkin Pawa to
Kaduna. The other stretch starts from Mosimi through Ore to Benin. The Lagos
area offices and facilities of the NNPC access the optical fibre route at
Mosimi via a microwave link through Atlas Cove while the horizontal segment
links the vertical segment via a microwave link from Benin to Abudu. The
optical fibre and the microwave links have 140mbps and 34mbps respectively.
The microwave links operate at 7GHZ. Figure 3 shows the NNPC telecommunication
routes within the country.

Terminations for interfacing with telecommunication equipment are effected at
each of the transit towns (nodes). NNPC now has an enormous bandwidth of its
comprehensive telecommunication system which it plans to share with other
organisations that may require such services. The horizontal and vertical
segments of the route will serve site interconnections in the Lagos, South
West, South East, East Central, North Central and Abuja zones conveniently.

iii. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE (IITA), IBADAN

Currently, IITA makes use of both INMARSAT and NITEL telecommunications links
to effect e-mail connectivity. The INMARSAT channel account for upward of 90%
of the total e-mail routings, because according to some IITA officials, the
NITEL channel is still not adequately reliable. IITA is hoping for a more
reliable NITEL because the INMARSAT link, according to some key operators of
the facility, is very expensive.

The equipment for the INMARSAT link is currently estimated at about $80,000.
In addition, IITA pays $10-20 per minute to use the line, which is between 6-8
times the NITEL rates.

iv. THE NATIONAL OIL COMPANY

The National Oil Company based in Lagos, currently uses leased lines to carry
out its data communication operations. However, because of problems currently
being encountered it is proposing switching over to VSAT which it claims, will
enable it carry out its numerous data communication activities such as:

1. Exchange of files

2. E-mail services

3. Bulletin Board Services (BBS)

4. Sharing of software

5. Centralized database system with different access levels.

The VSAT application is expected to facilitate its exchange of data across its
offices located in Kaduna, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Jos, Warri, Kano, Benin and
Lagos.

The Company also realised that while optics fibre connection can be one of the
most reliable means of data communication, more so that it can last for up to
25 years and not affected by corrosion, however the cost of laying this
facility is highly prohibitive and is only recommended for building to building
connectivity only as opposed to Wide area connectivity.

v. INFO COMMUNICATIONS, LAGOS

One other private e-mail operator, the Info communications which apart from
forging ahead in international electronic linkages with the installation of
Sprint International first node in Africa with the introduction of SprintNet
X.25 services in Lagos, is proposing to provide services to link some zones in
Nigeria, namely Kaduna, Kano, Abuja, Warri, Aba, Lagos, and Port Harcourt via
the X.25 Network.

As for its international connectivity activities, it is now handling the data
communications of a number of organisations such as the Nigerian Breweries PLC,
Esso oil, Arthur Anderson Management Consultants while institutions like the
International Tropical Agriculture (IITA) at Ibadan, Coca-Cola Bottling
Company, University of Nigeria Nsukka and the University of Ibadan are
initiating moves to utilize its services. Its prposed countrywide connectivity
is contained in Figure 6.

vi. CGNET

CGNET, though not based in Nigeria provides easy-to-use, worldwide electronic
mail links for Research and Non Governmental Organizations with internal
(LAN-based) electronic mail systems. This CGNET facility helps to improve and
increase communications among institutions, facilitating global collaboration.
The Company presently offers its services to a number of Organisations in
Nigeria, notably the IITA.

vii. SITA

SITA owns and operates the world's largest international data network. It
provides an extensive range of telecommunications and information processing
services.

It offers a complete spectrum of standard telecommunications products
available on the market. These include: managed data network services using
frame relay, X.25, SNA or airline communication protocols; X.40-based
messaging; and EDI. Mobile air-ground communications and airport services are
also part of SITA's portfolio.

SITAMAIL messaging services allow users of different electronic mailing
systems to communicate with one another. Based on the X.40 standard for
universal communications, SITAMAIL provides gateways on SITA's global network
which perform all translations between the various messaging formats, quickly
and transparently. Access to SITAMAIL is gained from X.40 or proprietary
electronic mail systems working on laptops, PCs, LANs or mainframe computers.

In addition, the SITAMAIL Telex delivery service transmits E-mail messages to
any Telex user worldwide, while the SITAMAIL Fax service delivers E-mail
messages to any fax machine. The service features multi-addressing
capabilities, and automatically returns a delivery notification message to the
originator.

The SITATEX messaging software package allows users to exchange files and
messages between PCs, laptops and LANs. User-friendly features make it easy to
edit, file quote and print messages, while transmission costs and times are
significantly reduced by powerful compression techniques.

12.0 THE INFRASTRUCTURE: EXISTING LOCALLY AND ACCESSIBLE FROM
ABROAD

Most of the operators listed above are institutional non commercial operators.
Among those companies which offer a range of high calibre telecommunication
services such as access to INMARSAT for full coverage of operations on marine,
commercial broadcasting, weather, fax and high AM frequencies is EXPOMA whose
product, Extrad Communication Controller (Data via Radio) is a combination of
an Extrad Modem, HF Radio Telephone SG 2000 and a micro computer system. This
Facility enables any organisation to communicate at any distance from computer
to computer, using standard HF radio communication equipment allowing fast and
error-free text and data transmission. The text and binary files that are
easily transmitted include:

messages

reports

memos

inventories

worksheets

programs

powerful text editor

The system also has a software facility to automatically compress text for a
faster throughput to increase communication by as much as 80%. Because of the
simplicity of the equipment, receiving a message or file does not require an
operator. Texts are automatically stored in computer memory and outputs
generated later. It comes with a software designed for easy, routine operation
even by untrained personnel. It also has provision for confirmation of receipt
of messages to be automatically sent back to originating station.

The cost of this facilities estimated at 900,000 - 1,000,000 per site
(Excluding the micro-computer but with software and installation). It is
totally independent of NITEL but requires obtaining license to operate the
radio frequency system.

13.0 STRENGTHENING THE INFORMATION DISSEMINATION INFRASTRUCTURE

In Nigeria, there is presently a seeming anti-intellectual climate symbolised
in the fear of dissent and of those who seek to probe beyond the surface of
things. One outward manifestation of this intellectual backwardness is that
the market for books is still small and the literacy ratio low, while the most
cost-effective channels for the distribution of information material, including
books, through which we can reach the various segments of the population are
yet to be created, and even the Federal and State governments do not seem to
have outlets for their publications. Yet, we need books of all kinds and in
all places to sustain the new literate who are only too easily susceptible to
relapse into functional illiteracy.

Despite the phenomenal growth in the education budget in the last three or
four decades, there is still an abysmal intellectual apathy even among the
educated elite in Nigeria, today. There is still a deplorable lack of
infrastructural facilities - modern printing and efficient postal and
telecommunication machinery, in spite of several suggestions that have been
made to the Government in recent years as to how the book and film industry can
be developed, e.g., the reduction or total abolition of import duties on books,
printing and cinematographic materials, provision of state loans and subsidies
to encourage the establishment of bookshops and publishing houses, seminars,
book clubs, libraries and training facilities for those engaged in the book and
film industries - writers, publishers, producers and film stars, booksellers,
libraries, readers and viewers. So far, little has been done along these
lines, but the need is urgent if we are to raise our society out of its
intellectual stupor and moral disarray. In addition to the old battle against
imperialism, for equitable terms of trade and equal freedom of action in the
international arena - which is by no means over - we are today engaged in an
equally vital battle for the minds of our people in the realm of knowledge,
morals and technology. This cannot be ignored, if we are to justify our
existence and claim to equality with the rest of the world.

14.0 DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION PLANNING

14.1 Introduction

In development communication, planning is a deliberate, systematic and
continuous effect to organise human activity for the efficient use of
communication resources and for the realisation of communication policies, in
the context of a particular country's development goals, means and priorities
and subject to its prevailing forms of social, economic and political
organisation. Development communication planning, therefore, must take into
account the development environment and goals of the country in which the
planning takes place. In addition, the country's political ideology, social
issues, communication facilities and systems, as well as available resources
must all be properly studied before planning the communication strategy that
would suit the environment.

Unfortunately, communication is usually brought into the planning of
development programmes only as an after-thought. Emphasis in most developing
countries is always on publicity. for the authorities in such countries there
is no difference between information (provision of facts and figures) and
communication (exchange of ideas). No serious thought is usually given to the
importance of communication - mass, interpersonal, traditional and folk - in
development. Provisions are usually made for publicising development plans and
objectives, but very little is done for feedback and for discussions. Hence a
common complaint of communication researchers and practitioners is that
communication policies and plans are too often in the hands of those who do not
know enough about communication to set up or contribute to the communication
systems that best serve the development needs of their countries.

In development communication planning, therefore, communication should not be
seen only as a tool, a supporting mechanism or an independent variable in
development. It should be viewed as an integral part of development plans, one
of whose major objectives is to create communication systems or modes that
would provide opportunity for people to have access to means of communication,
and to make use of these means in improving the quality of their lives.
Therefore, in seeking solutions to the problems of communication in
development, it is imperative to first look at the larger development process,
and then at the role or roles of communication within the larger system.

A general objective of any serious organisation would be to effectively and
efficiently provide service to its customers as and when required;and
simultaneously run a viable and profitable business to the satisfaction of both
management and staff.

The present developmental status of Telecommunications (a public utility
service) cannot be assessed in isolation of the general economic trends of the
country. Setting realistic objectives depend on many factors including the
Nigerian Internal and External policies, Existing infrastructure for
Telecommunication services (Internal and External), Government
Telecommunications Policy, manpower development, Industrialisation programme
and Fiscal policies.

The following points are pertinent to the Nigerian situation as of now:

i) Planning and Implementation of Telecommunications projects is promised on
the Importation of manufactured Telecomms equipment from industrialised
countries.

ii) While Tenders are to standard specifications, Nigeria now purchases
equipment from the global market unlike the pre 1960 period when supplies were
mainly from the UK.

iii) Replacement of equipment is partially influenced by lack of spares to
maintain existing ones since relevant manufacturing is not done in the
country.

iv) External Plants Construction is generally super-imposed on already
developed towns/cities instead of being provided for earlier as a firm
infrastructure at the preliminary stages of Civil Works development. This
leads to inadequate space provisioning and hence high susceptibility to
physical interference and sometimes frequent damage.

v) Inadequate supply of the public utility services that support
Telecommunications, e.g. water, electricity and Gas.

vi) The inability of the public security agencies to extend services to
remotely located plants sites.

The main service objective of NITEL is to ensure that Telecommunications
facilities are accessible to the generality of the Nigerian public
(privately/public) at a cost considered reasonable, and are efficiently
operated and maintained at the lowest practical cost to provide satisfactory
and uninterrupted service as and when required.

This service objective is further addressed under the four main sections of
the Telecommunication chain.

14.3 Tariffs

The essence of encouraging liberalisation, competition, deregulation and
ultimate privatization is the envisaged end result of continuously improving
efficiency and quality of service to be enjoyed by customers for lower prices.
Telecommunication is known to be capital intensive. It is also an accepted
normal business practice that some level of profitability must be achieved
else, the business would collapse. However, in a competitive environment,
market forces naturally dictate that prices charged must be near cost of
provision for survival and sustenance. The issue of tariffs get more and more
difficult by the day because the old traditions are changing, giving way to new
ones. The I.T.U. approved agreements between administrations (nations) on
International traffic settlements, which was aimed at encouraging expansion of
networks in developing nations, may no longer apply with the upsurge in
International service providers who are not committed to the traditional
monopolistic arrangement. Tariffs for all kinds of services with the
associated billing administration are key issues for management in a
deregulated Telecom environment.

14.4 Spectrum management

The radio frequency spectrum like the Geostationary Satellite orbit is vital
and limited national resources in the world of telecommunications. Despite
this, their accessibility is not restricted by geographical or political
frontiers neither is it depleted by use. There is therefore need for some
measure of control to avoid harmful interference to users and ensure equitable
access. Some 130 years ago in 1865 to be precise, the International Telegraph
Union was formed in Paris to address issues of Regulations in the field of
Telecommunications which was then predominantly Telegraphy as the name implied.
In later years after the discovery of Radio, the issues became more complex and
therefore required a more orderly and articulate approval at the World
Administrative Radio Conferences organised by the Radio communication sector of
the re-christened and re-structured International Telecommunication Union
which, after the second world War, became an agency of the United Nations
Organisation. The Radio regulations contain entries of allocation of giving
frequency bands for the three I.T.U. classified Regions of the world of which
Africa belongs to Region 1. Assignment of frequencies is made through the
licensing process in each administration (nation). The wide use of frequency
for broadcasting, terrestrial point to point, point to multipoint, Line of
Sight Long Distance Radio Networks, VSATs and other satellite-based
systems,such as Remote Control, Search and Rescue, Paging, Cellular as well as
other Mobile Communications in General, amongst other numerous functions, make
this an essential Regulatory issue in a deregulated telecommunication
environment. More entrants into the communications field today are taking
advantage of Radio Based Systems because of the relative ease of installation
and redeployment where/when necessary and also for cost effectiveness.

15.0 AWARENESS OF THE POPULACE ON THE APPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPMENT

It was here in the continent of Africa (Nairobi-Kenya to be precise) in 1982,
that the International Telecommunication Union decided to set up an Independent
Commission for World Wide Telecommunication Development. The seventeen member
commission carried out its assignment under the chairmanship of Sir Donald
Maitland of the United Kingdom and submitted a report titled "THE MISSING LINK"
by December 1984. In the published report of January 1985, the following
observations and recommendations were made amongst several others:

(1) that the gross and growing imbalance in the distribution of
telecommunications throughout the world was not tolerable.

(2) that there were some 600 million telephones in the world then, of which
three quarters were concentrated in the nine advanced industrialised countries
with the remainder, distributed unevenly throughout the rest of the world.

(3) that the pace of technological innovation was such that inhabitants of the
industrialised world looked forward to enjoying the full benefit of the so
called "information society" by the end of the century.

(4) that in the majority of developing countries the telecommunication system
was inadequate to sustain essential services. In large tracts of territory
there was no system at all. Neither in the name of common humanity nor on
ground of common interest was such a disparity acceptable.

(5) that in pursuance of the recommendations, the overriding objectives should
be to bring all mankind within easy reach of a telephone in the early part of
the next century.

(6) that achieving this objective will require a range of actions by both the
industrialised and developing countries.

It was over ten years ago when these conclusions were reached; the pertinent
question to ask today is, what changes have taken place here in Africa where
the study was initiated, that could be regarded as a direct response to the
above recommendations amongst others. International, Regional and United
Nations agencies' statistical records reflect that while there have been marked
improvement in the emerging economies of the Far East, and, the industrialised
nations that have attained universal service making optimum use of
opportunities offered by information technology, many countries in Africa are
yet to attain the I.T.U.'s minimum recommended level of basic telephone density
required for any nation.

A number of workshops had been organised recently to draw the attention of the
populace to the importance of Information Technology to development. At one of
such meetings, especially the one on the Draft of the National Policy on
Information Resources and Services held at the Administrative Staff College of
Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State and was held under the auspices of
UNESCO and the National Library of Nigeria, February 18-20, 1991, the following
recommendations were arrived at:-

1. All information must be available to all people, in all formats purveyed
through all communication channels and delivered at all levels of
comprehension.

2. All types of information resources and services produced in Nigeria
constitute a vital investment in the national development efforts. Such
information should be systematically collected, preserved and effectively
managed as basic inputs to national development efforts at all levels.

3. Endogenous information and indigenous knowledge must be regularly integrated
with externally generated information on Nigeria's development, as well as with
relevant information on the development of other countries.

4. Nigeria's information resources and services must be organized in space and
time so that waste is avoided or minimized. In particular, the acquisition,
storage and sharing of information resources and services must be rationalized
to ensure the optimal utilization of human, material and fiscal resources in
national development.

5. Information resources in all forms - oral, book, serial, print, electronic
media, etc. must be harnessed and repackaged, using the most cost effective
processing, communication and transport technologies available to deliver
appropriately targeted information to all categories of Nigerians, and
especially the illiterate and rural population who constitute more than 80% of
the population.

15.1 Awareness at the University Level

An information revolution, according to a NUC report, is underway. People all
over the world -from university professors to farmers - are using their
computers linked to the telephone to exchange messages, news, data and
information over huge distances at relatively low costs. Data and information
are travelling along global information highways, which have been carved up
into electronic systems, dominated by the giant internet system. Traffic on
these systems is increasing by a phenomenal ten percent per month. Many
countries in the developed and developing areas of the world are investing
heavily in the infrastructure necessary to build, expand, and use these
information highways to accelerate or enhance their development priorities.

But, most of Africa is still struggling to become a part of these systems. Of
all the regions of the world, Africa stands the farthest removed from the
emerging Information Age; and within Africa, Nigeria is among the most remote.
Consequently, Nigerian academics, researchers, planners, administrators,
business people and others face severe obstacles in accessing the new
technologies in order to communicate among themselves and with their
counterparts abroad. The negative consequences of working in isolation are
particularly serious in Nigerian universities where research and publication
activities are being judged and must continue to be judged by universal
standards.

The introduction of an e-mail project into the university system is thus aimed
at sustaining the gains of journal acquisitions achieved through the adjustment
credit of the World Bank by establishing strong, regular links between Nigerian
Universities and the global academic community. This communications are
essential for any university to fulfil its mandate in advance teaching and
research. Poor communication on the other hand not only adds to university
management costs and undercuts staff performance, it also limits quality
teaching and research.

As mentioned earlier, a feasibility study, carried out by the NUC in eleven
selected Federal Universities, showed that the level of computer awareness and
its utilization in the selected universities was above average. However,
awareness of electronic mail technology is very low while its utilization is
virtually non-existent and limited to very few individuals and departments that
have linkage arrangements with international research and funding agencies.
Intra-and inter-campus communication, as well as international communication,
is heavily dependent upon regular postal and courier services, largely due to
non-existent or unreliable telephone and telefax services. Bulky textual
material is conveyed nationally and internationally almost entirely by regular
mail.

Considerable actual and potential physical and human resources required to
instal, operationalize, and maintain a national e-mail system exist in Nigerian
universities as well as in NITEL (Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd). The Chief
Executive of each of the universities surveyed showed a remarkable level of
enthusiasm and willingness to champion the e-mail sense; academics and senior
administrative/professional staff considered the introduction of e-mail in
Nigeria universities long overdue. The expected benefits of an e-mail facility
were well appreciated by most respondents, a majority (52.3%) of whom reported
preparedness to contribute towards its funding. In particular, the use of
e-mail was perceived as a critical factor of interactive exchange of
information, quality teaching and research, and the supervision of postgraduate
students in Nigeria.

The major conclusion of the survey was that an effective electronic
communication system for Nigerian universities is feasible and should be
implemented in phases. Apart from initial hardware costs (servers, modems
etc.) and the cost of leased lines, the envisaged annual maintenance and
running costs for the proposed e-mail system would be far below the reported
running costs of the present largely inefficient and unreliable communication
systems in Nigerian universities.

Based on the firm conclusion of the survey that an e-mail project in Nigerian
universities is a feasible proposition, some preliminary ideas on its design
and implementation are briefly discussed. In particular, it is recommended
amongest others:

that effective intra and inter-faculty electronic communication (PABX) be
swiftly restored to every Nigerian university as the minimum pre-requisite for
a meaningful e-mail system which would use the same universities as Nodes;

15.1.1 AVAILABILITY AND USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS/COMPUTING RESOURCES IN
NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES.

Traditional forms of telecommunications in Nigeria have not been as effective
as they are in more developed countries. Postal mail services are
relatively slow and unreliable despite recent efforts by the Nigerian Postal
Services (NIPOST) with the introduction of the speed post. Bottlenecks in the
system either due to lack of adequate transportation facilities or low
incentives to workers, result in substantial delays in the delivery of mails.

Although Telephone services are becoming more and more reliable,
especially with the digitalization drive of NITEL (Nigerian
Telecommunications), the down-times are still very high while charges have gone
up astronomically.

Although the Fascimile (Fax) machine is commonly used for transmitting
textual documents, it is not as widely used in Nigeria as would have been
expected. Their effectiveness is largely dependent on reliable, steady power
supply as both sending and receiving machines must be left on at the same time.
Potential users know that the erratic nature of the power supply from NEPA
(Nigerian Electricity Power Authority) cannot guarantee this.

Computing in the form of personal computers, has made significant
inroads in Nigerian universities, mostly in areas of word- processing,
accounting, database management and research-based applications. However,
using computers to communicate with one another, irrespective of geographical
location, is yet to be a phenomenon in Nigerian universities as in most
public-sector institutions. This is difficult to comprehend especially as it
is mandatory for Federal universities in Nigeria to have computer centres. In
addition, a large number of these universities have computer science
departments, and the academics in these departments would have been expected to
be in the forefront of electronic mailing connectivity initiatives, but
presently this is not the case.

15.1.2 Computer Awareness and Usage

Most (61%) of the respondents surveyed in the above mentioned survey of 11
universities in Nigeria, reported moderate to high computer awareness, but only
about half (49%) of respondents reported moderate to high Computer usage.
(Figures 7 & 8). There exists great variation between Universities in
terms of their levels of Computer awareness and usage. The overall picture is
that awareness is much higher than usage (Figure 10) reflecting, perhaps, an
insufficiency of Computing facilities and/or opportunities to use them in
Universities.

15.1.3 Awareness and Use of E-mail

About half (162) of all respondents (296) reported awareness of e-mail
technology, although only 1/5th of them have used the facility (and mostly for
communication with targets outside Nigeria), as shown in Figure 9.

15.1.4 Communication Channel Used

Within Nigerian Universities, 63% of respondents reportedly communicated by
using messengers/couriers, while only 37% reportedly used electronic
communication system, such as the intercom device which is limited to part of a
university such as a faculty (26.7%) or covers the entire university (9.1%).
Only 1% of respondents expectedly, communicated by e-mail within their
university communities (Figure 11).

All respondents reportedly communicated bulky textual materials by postal
(80.1% or courier services (9.9%) within Nigeria and the Nigerian University
System (Figure 13).

Almost all respondents (97.6%) reportedly used traditional postal or courier
methods to covey bulky textual materials to destinations outside Nigeria
(Figure 14), while very few used Fax (2.03%) or electronic mail (0.34%) for the
same purpose.

Electronic communication facilities were reportedly available for use at
inter-university and/or international levels for 68.6% of respondents (Figure
12). These facilities consisted mainly of telephones (42.9% - of which most
are analog) or radio (17.2%). Electronic mail access was reported by only 3.0%
of respondents.

15.2 RELEVANT INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES

15.2.1 In another survey concerning respondents' perception regarding adequacy
of infrastructural facilities relevant to electronic communication is very low.
The facilities are viewed as non-available or inadequate for communication
within the campus (99.2%) and outside (97.4%) as shown in Tables 3.1 - 3.4.
Similarly, 96% of respondents expressed the view that available Computer
facilities for E-Mail in their Universities were unacceptably inadequate.
Perception regarding ability of Universities to maintain infrastructural
facilities was, rather high (65.4%).

These depressing statistics of perception of Universities are important, but
may not reflect the true situation in the country. Instead, they may have more
bearing on low awareness and access to existing facilities which are mainly
restricted to high-ranking University officers rather than academic units. It
is a fact that every Federal University has at least one fax machine installed
by NUC, and some of the Universities had more than 30 direct telephone lines.

15.2.2 Perceived Benefits of E-mail

Some 95% of all respondents were able to perceive the benefits of E-mail for
research and/or research supervision purposes. Furthermore, 52% of all
respondents were willing to subscribe for use of the facility on an individual
basis. Most respondents (62%), however felt that the NUC, rather than
individual Universities, should fund the E-mail project.

15.3 Awareness at the Federal Level

The Federal Government of Nigeria created, in 1979, the Ministry of Science
and Technology to give leadership and direction to development of
socio-economic well-being. Specifically, the ministry was mandated to
coordinate and undertake scientific and technological research and development.
These activities involve technological innovation, including integrating
foreign technologies into local culture and upgrading indigenous technology,
human resource development for the effective use of knowledge to create wealth
and improve the quality of life, documentation and dissemination of related
information, and promotion of international cooperation in science and
technology. In order to perform directional and coordinational roles, the
ministry formulated the Science and Technology Policy in 1986, which was
revised and launched in 1989. The Science and Technology policy was aimed at:

1. increasing public awareness in science and technology and vital role in
national development and well-being;

2. directing science and technology efforts along identified national goals;

3. promoting the translation of science and technology results into actual
goods and services;

4. creating, increasing and maintaining an indigenous science and technology
base through research and development;

5. motivating creative output in science and technology;

6. increasing and strengthening theoretical and practical scientific base in
the society; and

7. increasing and strengthening the technological base of the Nation.

Towards achieving these policy objectives, the science and technology policy
document identified strategies for implementation of the policy.

These strategies and institutional arrangements are as follows:

(a) Federal Ministry of Science and Technology is to supervise the twenty-six
research institutions.

(b) National Consultative Committee on Industrial Research (NCCIR) is to
encourage exchange of views between the public and private sectors and to
facilitate feedbacks from end-users of science and technology research and
Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. Membership includes
representatives of banks and other financial institutions, chambers of
commerce, manufacturers' associations, research institutions, universities,
professional associations and relevant government agencies.

(c) National Office of Industrial Property (NOIP) was established in 1979
to:-

1. encourage more efficient process for the identification and selection of
foreign technology:

6. operate a databank on design and engineering consultancy organisations in
Nigeria.

(d) State Technology Demonstration Centres (STDEC) were to be established in
each state to have direct links with the Federal Ministry of Science and
Technology and its agencies and with industrial organisations. Their functions
were to provide extension services to industries in the local areas and
establish demonstration units on selected viable technologies in critical areas
of concern.

(e) Science and Technology Documentation Centre (STDC) at Abuja was also
established and mandated to set up databases on various aspects of science and
technology linked to Research Institutes and Universities. Its other functions
include:

1. maintenance of a national science and technology library; and

2. collection, classification, storage, publication and dissemination of data
on science and technology manpower available in Nigeria, Nigerians involved in
science and technology internationally, science and technology project reports
undertaken in Nigeria, research activities in all sectors of the economy and
information on existing technologies in the key areas.

(f) Industrial Development Coordinating Committee (IDCC) was established under
the Federal Ministry of Industries in collaboration with the Federal Ministry
of Science and Technology. The operational concepts of self-sustaining
industrialisation by the IDCC include:-

1. identifying and establishing core industries;

2. reassessing industrial strategies towards a local resource-based
industrialisation; and

3. creating internal engines of growth.

The IDCC, in conjunction with UNIDO, evolved the Strategic Management of
Industrial Development (SMID). The framework for this SMID is the
establishment of the National Committee on Industrial Development (NCID). NCID
develops strategies for each sub-system before sanctioning by government and
monitors implementation; progress and problems are noted and, where necessary,
addressed immediately. Below the NCID are strategic consultative groups - one
for each identified priority sub-system.

The Strategic Consultative Group (SCG) is made up of representatives of the
various actors within the defined network of relations. Their main functions
according to NCID (1990) are to:-

1. analyze the specific problems and constraints of their sub-system;

2. analyze the opportunities that exist in domestic and foreign markets;

3. develop a strategic direction for the sub-system;

4. pin-point the type of supportive programmes needed to implement the adopted
strategy;

5. work out a programme of action.

(g) Co-operative arrangement was established between research institutions,
universities and polytechnics.

(h) Four existing centres of excellence in technology attached to universities,
i.e. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile Ife;
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto were
established to implement R&D activities in various sectors of technological
development.

Government on its part has continued to foster the growth of Science and
Technology by removing some of the constraints that hamper technological
development in the country. On July 18th, 1990, the National Committee on
Engineering Infrastructure (NACENI) comprising 150 members drawn from State and
Federal Ministries, the organised private sector, the professional
organizations, higher institutions, research institutes etc, was set up.

16.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Since effective maintenance of any telecommunication outfits dependent on
availability of spare parts, it is recommended that all future information and
telecommunications projects should be aligned to provide for spare-parts
production in the country. In this respect, efforts should be made to build
into contract agreements on imported technologies, the possibility of Nigerians
being involved in the assembly of such technologies abroad. Such involvement
will allow Nigerians to gain detailed insight into the internal arrangements
and working of the equipment. The maintenance schedule of any future project
should be clearly assigned to Nigerians.

There is an urgent need for equipment standardisation in the country. This
will ease the manufacture of spare parts and reduce maintenance cost. Also
maintenance personnel should be provided with adequate tools and they should be
located sufficiently close to the facilities they are to maintain. The third
important consideration in the development process is the availability of core
industries for the fabrication and manufacture of equipment and spare parts.

In Nigeria today we have a Federal Ministry of Science and Technology charged
with the responsibility of promoting scientific and technological activities in
the country. For the country to develop technologically we must all agree to
use this government organ effectively. Also the Universities Research
Institutes, Industries, Entrepreneurs and private organisations - all have a
role to ensure that the prerequisites for meaningful technology development are
available in the country.

The Recommendations for a powerful and efficient telecommunications in Nigeria
can be summed up as follows:

(1) that Operation and Maintenance Strategy be premised on a structural
organisation that assigns full responsibility to zonal/state administration
working directly with the Central office of the administration.

(2) That the service objective shall be to provide optimum effective and
efficient telecommunications service within the framework of available
resources at the lowest cost.

(3) That a unified operational and maintenance pattern in the zones/states
should be guaranteed by the issuance of guidelines from the Headquarters of the
administration to the zones/states for compliance.

(4) That periodic returns be made at specified times from the zones/states to
Headquarters for analysis and general management of overall information.

(5) The Headquarters set out a list of accepted performance indicators to which
would be related the analysis of returns from the zones/states as a yardstick
for measurement of activities and guide in taking decision on improvement.

(6) That a network of maintenance centres be set up as the main support to
operational routine maintenance which is mainly based on replacement of modules
to cut down on outage periods.

(7) That there be a National Maintenance Centre as the hierarchy, supported by
zonal/state maintenance Centres and mobile units for prompt attention to remote
locations.

(8) That support Services' - (Stores and Workshops) - administration and
operations be structured in conformity with (1) above and easily accessible by
field operation and maintenance staffs.

(9) That training in the form of Appreciation courses, Refresher courses, Skill
Development, Safety, Management, Introductory courses, etc., should be
intensified and programmed to suit operations and maintenance needs on a
continuous basis.

(10) That records are vital Operational and Maintenance tools, be they
personnel records, training records, subscribers records, Technical Handbook
records, Equipment or Assets' etc. The ultimate should be a centralised
computer record location from which information could be retrieved or updated
on any subject matter relating to Operations and Maintenance.

(11) That in all these Operation and Maintenance Strategy processes, auditing
as a vital organ to check excesses and streamline operations should be taken
cognisance of Technical Audit, Store Audit and Personnel Audit shall be
undertaken by the Headquarters' team periodically for accountability.

(12) That customer services locations as an all-purpose centre for
Telecommunications services should be strategically located for easy reach of
the public at large.

(13) That a multidisciplinary team be formed to work on the standardisation of
telecommunication equipment modules, tools and test gears for operations in the
Nigerian market.

(14) That the planning and Implementation groups take advantage of Operational
and Maintenance group experience in finalising designs and project acceptance
procedures to minimise operational and maintenance difficulties after
commissioning.

It has been argued that the growth of Information Technology could both
facilitate and complicate the job of governing; facilitate by making available
to decision makers vastly expanded resources of timely information and
complicate by vastly expanding the number of people who would be informed about
important issues and who will inevitably want to play a role in deciding.
However, any seeming disadvantage should be weighed against the numerous
advantages derivable from its application.

The recent competitive environment of telecommunications which allows more
than one field operator must of necessity attract standards and rules of
operation for orderliness, effectiveness and efficiency. The flexibility of
choice open to customers also call for a wide interconnecting boundary between
operators and a specific level of quality of service to be attained by all to
avoid harmful effects on other operators and the public being served at large.
There is therefore need for an effective monitoring and enforcement mechanism
in the structural frame work of managing telecommunications in a liberalised
environment. Furthermore, penalties applicable to violation of rules must be
commensurate and promptly applied to deter violators. The monitoring and
enforcement unit could be structured within the Regulatory Institution or
otherwise, such responsibility could be devolved on existing law enforcement
agencies in the land. The instrument establishing the Regulatory Institution
by government would, along with the statement of mission, determine the
position in the hierarchy of governance where the supposedly autonomous and
independent Regulatory body would be and at the same time, define specific
issues to be addressed which may, or may not, include enforcement of rules and
application of penalties.

It is obvious from all stated earlier, that Information Technology management
in a Deregulated Telecommunications environment would primarily revolve around
a strong Regulatory Institution in the nation. In a liberalised setting for
competition between operators, service providers, content assemblers and
disseminators as well as devices retailers and manufacturers, an independent
and neutral body to set the rules of the game as well as apply and monitor them
is a prerequisite in such a pluralistic scenario. There is need therefore for
the following:

(1) A clear statement of mission of the Regulatory Institution by Government
from the outset.

(2) A legal instrument defining the Regulator's powers, rights and obligations
and equally the rights and obligations of licensees and the established Public
Telecommunications Operators that are on the field.

(3) Establishment of the relative position of the regulator to other arms of
Government, its linkages and working methods.

(4) Putting in place significant resources in terms of men, materials and money
to enhance the Regulatory entity's performance.

The need to keep abreast with technological advancement, especially in this
era of rapid obsolescence of equipment due to intensified research activities
need not be emphasised. The regulatory Institution must be sufficiently
equipped to carry out its Type approval Tests and standardisation functions and
also be financially capable of hiring high calibre staff to perform these and
other licensing functions.

The Nigerian government has a crucial role to play in nurturing rapid
technology progress, as well as rapid application of new technologies in the
marketplace. In the field of Information Technology, the government has to
establish a clear set of national objectives - such as universal services,
technological leadership and broadband capability into all population centres,
through a comprehensive and up-to-date National Policy for Telecommunications
and Information Technology.

Government should also promote private sector investment, continue to improve
the management of radio frequency spectrum, and ensure that information
resources are available to all at affordable prices. Finally, Government needs
to give due consideration to the needs of the rural areas for new information
services in order to reduce the incidence of rural to urban migration.

There is also a need for Standard Organizations in African countries and the
rest of the key actors to liaise and strategically plan and elaborate the
technical specifications of the industry.

In Europe, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI),
officially recognized by the European Union (EU) as the standards body for
telecommunications, is a leader in its domain. It is also responsible for
standardization in the overlapping areas in information technology and
broadcasting in collaboration with other concerned organization.

The Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), also in its own rights, is
empowered among other things, to prepare standards for products and processes
and to ensure compliance with the Federal Government policies on
Standardization and Quality control for both locally manufactured goods and
imported products throughout the country. It is noteworthy that the decree
establishing the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) specifies as its
function, the setting up of technical standards for the telecommunications
industry. However, to ensure coordination and clarity where required, NCC
relates with SON and other agencies in areas of common interest e.g. safety
regulations and environmental hazards. Just as there is no single formula for
the overall structure of a society or its relation to other societies, so there
is no single formula for the internal structure of a national communication
policy. It all depends on a country's established tradition of communication
organisation, its stage of development, and what aspects of the general
societal activities and goals are felt more convenient to be promoted through a
deliberately designed communication policy at any particular point in time.

If there is any one guiding principle it is that national communication
policies are creative activities that must respond at all time to the dynamics
of their societies, to the fundamental objectives and directive principles of
their states and to the particular human values that a nation wishes to project
as her identifying characteristics in the community of nations. It is the lack
of such a coherent set of principles and norms to guide communication systems
of most developing nations, including Nigeria, that is invariably related to
the inadequate development of their communicative capacities and the
appropriate utilisation of the resources of modern communication for
development. This is also related to some undesirable behaviour tendencies
among Third World communication practitioners which often earn for them charges
of lack of patriotism from their respective countries' leaders.

The current attempt by Nigeria to brace up to the need to formulate a
comprehensive national communication policy should be seen not only as an
effort to come to grips with the myriad of problems of socio-economic
development, structural imbalances and integration of its multi-religious
population into the mainstream of the life of the nation, but perhaps, equally
important it is an effort to exploit its rich but latent communicative
resources to forge a credible and potent foreign relations.

A comprehensive National Policy must address itself to matters relating to the
following communication sub-systems and other media-related matters in order to
arrive at a coordinated, coherent statement that embraces all the constituents
of the system as a whole;